Religious Broadcasting in the Middle East

The advent and rapid expansion of satellite television in the Middle East during the late 1990s and the early part of the twenty-first century has profoundly impacted the region and the wider world. In the region, satellite television channels such as Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, and the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) have influenced regional and even global politics, for example during the Second Iraq War when Al-Jazeera became a target of the U.S. administration of President George W. Bush. Many of the larger satellite television networks, including Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, are connected in some way to the ruling families of their home countries, the former with the ruling Al Thani royal family and the latter with the Al Sa[ud monarchy. Other channels, however, are connected either to established political parties, such as Hizbullah’s Al-Manar TV and the Palestinian HAMAS’ Al-Aqsa TV, or particular companies and interested groups, such as various Salafi TV networks based in Egypt and the Arab Gulf states. Religiously-themed shows, from callin talk shows featuring bona fide religious jurists (fuqaha’) and other religious scholars (ulema) and preachers to more regimented shows featuring in depth discussions with these individuals, such as Al-Jazeera Arabic’s al-Shari[ah wa’l-Hayah, are a major part of the programming on many of these satellite television networks.