More than 30 international television channels will participate in a major awareness campaign to educate Muslims globally on the danger posed by the Islamic State terrorist organization that has taken over swaths of land in Iraq and Syria and killed hundreds of innocent people.
\nIslamic scholars from Saudi Arabia, Europe and other countries will take part in the weeklong campaign, which will be launched in Riyadh on Sept. 18, to caution the public against extremism and how terrorist organizations distort Islamic teachings.
\nCulture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said criminal organizations in the Arab world posed a major threat to Islam. \u201cThey are the first enemy of Islam,\u201d he said in a Twitter message.
\n\u201cTargeting plurality in the Arab world means targeting Islam. Defending plurality, sticking to the fundamentals, means defending Islam,\u201d the minister said referring to the IS militants and other extremists.
\nPolitical analyst Badr Almotawa emphasized the significance of the television campaign and said it was essential to educate youth about the moderate teachings of Islam. \u201cThe campaign should also use social media to ensure its message reaches the largest number of people, including young men and women,\u201d he told Arab News.
\nAlmotawa said the content of television programs to be aired during the campaign should be presented in an innovative manner to attract the public. He hoped that major channels in the Arab world including MBC, Al-Arabiya and LBC would join the campaign.
\nAbdulrahman Al-Husseini, a media person, said the campaign was aimed at cautioning the public against the IS and other terrorist organizations that tarnish the image of Islam and Muslims. Basil Al-Abd, another journalist, said the participation of several scholars would strengthen the campaign, adding that it would include media reports highlighting IS\u2019 destructive activities.<\/p>\n