For 30 years, Arab News has been espousing the cause of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Arabs, Islam and Muslim Ummah. Gradually but firmly the first English-language newspaper of the Middle East gained a foothold in the Arab world and in no time commanded recognition and respect on the international arena. It became one of the most quoted newspapers, especially in the United States and Europe, as it reflects the true Islamic picture of the Kingdom, and its policies and efforts toward the peace in the region and well-being of Muslims throughout the world. Now, it is among the most widely read and most widely quoted newspapers.

Since the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Arabian Peninsula has been the torchbearer of Islam — its teachings in the light of Qur’an and Sunnah, the tradition of the Prophet. In modern times, soon after the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz took the onerous responsibility of spreading the message of Islam. And the unification of Arabs and Muslims in the service to Islam, at first instance, became his first and foremost aim. In a very short time, he succeeded in bringing the warring tribes of the huge peninsula together and turning them into a cohesive force. In the process, his landmark achievement was recognition of the responsibility the Kingdom has in preserving and strengthening the cultural and religious heritage of Muslims the world over. The first Saudi king’s remarkable achievement was his efforts to facilitate the annual Haj pilgrimage for Muslims from every corner of the globe.

As time passed, the four sons who succeeded him became the preservers and torchbearers of the noble task of initiating programs to promote and strengthen the Islamic values, its culture, its tenets and, above all, to provide leadership in this regard. Their untiring efforts, in the initial stages, faced some hurdles because of the lack of proper channels of communication and transport to spread the message of Islam abroad. Now, there is hardly a place on the globe where the message of Islam has not reached, of course, through Saudi leaders under the guidance of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.

Reflecting his desire to strengthen the bonds of Islamic fraternity and brotherly relationship, King Fahd long ago said: “We shall make every effort to strengthen our relations with our brothers in Muslim and Arab countries, and we shall do our utmost for the Muslim community.” To see his desire come true, Saudis have made immense strides in not only inculcating the need to spread education among the country men, but they have gone out to different places of the world to propagate Islamic teachings. And the Kingdom’s commitment to serve the cause of Islam has been manifested in a variety of ways. King Fahd not only invested massive amounts in the expansion of the Holy Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah Al-Munawwarah, but he also built hundreds of mosques throughout the Kingdom. He also established Qur’anic schools where men, women and children, both Saudi and expatriates, join classes to memorize the Holy Book, set up a massive network of libraries filled with Islamic literature, and rendered innumerable social and religious services to Muslims, particularly Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries.

He has provided tens of millions of riyals in aid throughout the world, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Several years ago, the Saudi government established the King Fahd Qur’an Printing Complex in Madinah. It is the first major and notable example of King Fahd’s dedication to the cause of Islam and Muslims.

“It was at this place two years ago that I laid the foundation stone for this gigantic project. And it was in this city that the people expressed their deep sense of pleasure at the arrival of the Prophet. They rallied to his call, which was raised for the benefit of mankind. On this day the dream has come true and it is the duty of every citizen of Saudi Arabia to thank Allah the Almighty on this great bliss,” King Fahd said while opening the complex in 1985 (Safar 6, 1405). The monumental project is a testimony to King Fahd’s keen desire to spread the message of the Qur’an, which is an endeavor befitting his position as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The complex has, so far, produced more than 150 million copies of the Holy Qur’an. And the complex has distributed more than 120 million copies of the Holy Book and its translations in different languages to mosques, Islamic centers, libraries and educational institutions free of charge. This commitment to quantity is matched by the recognition of the need for investment to maintain the highest quality. More than a billion riyals have so far been invested in the complex, which requires an annual working budget of more than SR400 million ($106.6 million) and employs 500 Saudi and 700 non-Saudi experts and technicians.

Millions of copies of the Holy Qur’an printed annually in Arabic with translations in different languages are donated to mosques, madrasas, religious organizations, schools, universities, hotels and local markets throughout the Kingdom. This is apart from what is sent and donated to countries abroad, as the complex has published translations of the Holy Qur’an in more than 20 languages, including English, French, Urdu, Indonesian, Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Bengali, Kazakh, Hausa, Malayalam, Somali, Albanian, Bosnian, Tamil, Pashtu, Uighur and Swahili.

The complex has also become a major center for Islamic research and studies. King Fahd feels a special responsibility not only toward the Muslims in the Kingdom and Arab world, but to Muslims everywhere. In order to act on this responsibility, the Kingdom over the past several years has undertaken work to meet the spiritual needs of the growing number of Muslims in other parts of the globe. The first and foremost step King Fahd took was to cement relations with various countries and in turn strengthen their ties with the Kingdom. And it became more urgent in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and subsequent terrorist activities around the world. The Kingdom has been trying its best to help contain the malaise the world over. Secondly, the king has given special attention to the conditions of Muslims in different countries, rich or poor. Especially poor because widespread poverty has been one of the factors that turns people to extremism and terrorism. The king also established hundreds of mosques, Islamic centers, cultural institutions and special chairs and faculties in various colleges and universities of the world. Although this task was planned many years ago, the pace of its implementation was accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s - with the result that more than 1,600 mosques and Islamic centers have been established and financed by King Fahd alone. According to a recent statement by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, the Kingdom has established mosques and major Islamic complexes in New York, Washington, Toronto, London, Rome, Brussels, Madrid, Vienna, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Queensland, Bonn, Berlin, Paris and a host of other capitals, cities and towns of the world.

The Kingdom has also lavishly financed Islamic universities in Malaysia, Niger, Uganda, Pakistan and Sudan in a bid to promote and spread Islamic education in its true form. The primary aim has always been to explain to non-Muslims the true nature of Islam and its teachings, as opposed to media stereotypes. In this regard, the King Fahd academies in Washington, London, and Bonn in particular, play a notable role in projecting the correct picture of Islam and Muslims to a world that is becoming more and more hostile to it after Sept. 11 tragedy.

With the same view and purpose, the Kingdom has established institutions of Islamic and Arabic studies in other cities of the Americas, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Djibouti, Mauritania, South Korea and many other countries. Generally, the mosque complexes in non-Muslim countries are designed to serve the purpose not only of prayers but also of imparting education, doing dawa work (propagating the message of Islam), holding cultural and social get-togethers, solemnizing marriages, in a true Islamic spirit mostly among the poor and less educated Muslims, and opening libraries with books on Islamic-related topics. Naturally, these centers invite the attraction of others and help non-Muslims understand the spirit and true nature of Islam and Muslim. And to a maximum extent, and particularly in light of the post-Sept. 11 scenario, the non-Muslims have been striving to understand the true meaning and nature of Islam.

The Kingdom’s endeavor to spread the message of Islam — peace and tranquillity — has no limits. Its efforts have no bounds and boundaries. The king is not alone in his endeavor to achieve the monumental task of spreading the message. Crown Prince Abdullah, Prince Sultan, Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Fahd, ministers, governors of the provinces and a host of other officials also, on his behalf, have been carrying out the task zealously. They not only have been looking after the already established Islamic institutions abroad but have also been overseeing the new projects in other countries as well.

And these noble tasks have been well-projected by Arab News over the past 30 years. Arab News, with its world-renowned editor in chief at the helm, has been helping spread the message of Islam in different ways as well.

The importance it attaches more to the propagation of Islam and its teachings can be gauged from its twice weekly full-page coverage of Islamic issues — Islam in Perspective edited and produced by Adil Salahi. Moreover, extensive coverage is given to Islamic conferences, exhibitions and charity organizations. These events are always given prominent space in the newspaper. This is above all the substantial national and international coverage it has been giving since 1975.

(Senior Editor Syed Liyaquat Husain specializes in Middle Eastern and Islamic affairs.)