Spreading the moderate divine message of Islam

Saudi Arabia is the cradle of Islam. From this holy land, the divine and peaceful message of Islam spread all over the world.

The followers of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, have played a significant role in taking the message to more people across the globe through their lives and preaches.
As a result, Islam has now become the second largest religion in the world with more than 1.5 billion followers.
As the first and leading English language daily newspaper published from Saudi Arabia since 1975, Arab News has been carrying out a marvelous task in disseminating the teachings of Islam among the millions of foreign workers who have come to work in the Kingdom, especially non-Muslims.
Arab News readers have often praised the newspaper for giving them a correct picture of Islam through its informative articles.
The “Islam in Perspective” pages published by Arab News on Fridays, since its inception, have attracted a large number of readers within the Kingdom and abroad.
It has reportedly encouraged many non-Muslims to embrace Islam. Adil Salahi, an Egyptian Islamic scholar, has done a great job by editing these pages for the past 29 years.
“The Islam in Perspective provides a dual service. It explains Islamic beliefs, principles, values and practices, and it interacts with readers, replying to their questions and explaining how they should deal with their problems in a way that is acceptable to Islam,” says Salahi.
“The approach I followed throughout my tenure meant that ‘Islam in Perspective’ should steer away from controversy. Therefore, it concentrated on presenting the truth of Islam in a simple way. We looked at what the Qur’an has stated and what the Prophet explained,” the editor said.
He adds: “This has had an amazing effect on readers. Many were those who wrote saying that Islam in Perspective helped them understand their faith better. They said that old notions, learned through tradition and social practices, were shattered. They could not have seen the beauty of Islam without removing such mistakes. Others said they learned about Islam what is totally unknown in their own countries.”
Islam in Perspective discussed issues such as women’s position in Islam, emphasizing the fact that equality of men and women is enshrined in Islam.
When Prophet Muhammad was wrongfully attacked from different quarters, Arab News published a series of articles highlighting the noble qualities and teachings of the Prophet, to refute the fallacies that are thrown at Islam’s doorstep.
“We have related the Prophet’s life, the most appealing and enriching ever known on this planet. We have shown his method: loving, caring, compassionate to all mankind. We have explained his manners: most gentle, polite and trusting. We have outlined his teachings, which always aimed to ensure the best for the individual and society,” Salahi says.
Arab News has been successful projecting Islam as a message of love, care and compassion to all mankind.
Dr. Hassan Al-Ahdal, secretary-general of the International Media Organization, an affiliate of the Makkah-based Muslim World League, was all praise for Arab News in spreading the message of Islam among its readers.
“This is a great service,” he told Arab News. He urged Arab News to give greater importance to its Islamic content as it is religiously read by thousands of people inside and outside the Kingdom.
Al-Ahdal also underlined the paper’s role in giving wide coverage to annual Haj events.
“I can tell you that most people abroad depend on Arab News to gain first-hand knowledge about Haj developments,” he said. Nearly three million Muslim faithful come from different parts of the world to perform Haj, an important pillar of Islam, every year.
“Media is a powerful institution that plays an important role in world affairs. It influences cultures and traditions,” Al-Ahdal said while praising Arab News’ role in taking up issues such Danish cartoons denigrating the Prophet and the Swedish foreign minister’s attack on the Shariah.
He said the IMO would coordinate with media organizations in the Islamic world and contribute to developing Islamic media, defending Islamic causes and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), using modern methods.
“Our organization will also work to develop media activities, deepen Islamic and moderate values and correct the wrong image of Islam among the public, win international support for Islamic issues and promote world peace and stability,” he said.
Fuad Kawther, an aviation engineer and former director general of the Industrial City Dawa Office in Jeddah, commended Arab News for championing the causes of Islam and Muslims.
“Arab News plays a big role in strengthening Muslim unity and brotherhood. This is a noble work encouraged by the Prophet.”
He also praised the daily for its efforts to increase Islamic awareness among Muslims. Kawther emphasized the need to propagate and market Islam in a professional manner as part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to promote peace and stability all over the world.
“We should present Islam in a scientific and attractive manner using modern information technology. If we simply treat our fellow humans the way Islam instructs, they will open up and show interest to learn about our religion,” he said.
“If we study the Islamic history and literature, we can understand that every Muslim is advised to take part in the efforts to spread the word of God,” Kawther said. Islam is a religion of logic and knowledge. Islam leads humanity in all aspects of life, he explained.
Since there is no priesthood in Islam or sacerdotal class among Muslims, the duty of the call to Allah cannot be limited to an ill-conceived and imaginary group called the “men of religion as is the case with other religions.”
Abdul Shukoor Ali, a business executive at a reputable Saudi company in Jeddah, spoke highly about Arab News’ endeavors to disseminate the moderate message of Islam. “I have noticed that Arab News has been presenting Islam with a broader and international perspective, keeping itself away from extremist views. This has attracted a large number of Muslims as well as non-Muslims,” Ali told Arab News.
“The reach and impact of Arab News, being an international newspaper read by people from different countries are fantastic,” Ali said. “The uniqueness of Arab News is that it is not addressing a particular community or nationality. It is widely read by all expatriates.”
Arab News has been helping expatriates to have a comprehensive knowledge of Islam. “It has been presenting Islamic teachings in an intelligent and impressive manner. As a result it has encouraged many non-Muslims to understand the truthfulness of Islam and embrace it.”
Ali hoped that Arab News would devote more pages to Islam in order to confront Islamophobia and remove misunderstandings about the divine religion caused by certain extremist Muslim groups.
“I am sure that being an influential and powerful English newspaper read by people around the world, Arab News can play an important role in addressing the issue of Islamophobia by publishing a series of articles explaining the beauty of Islam,” Ali said.
“Many Muslims and non-Muslims are confused by seeing some extremist and terrorist groups associated with Islam, which is the most humane religion and has nothing to do with terrorism,” he added.