Al-Azhar plans satellite television channel about Islam

The channel will be broadcast on both main satellite channels operating in Egypt and will be accessible worldwide. It will initially transmit in Arabic with some English and French programming and there are plans to add content later in Urdu and Turkish. Azhari received its initial 15 million Egyptian pounds funding from a Libyan businessman and philathropist, Hassan Tatanaki.
Guindy told Reuters the plan really got going about a month ago, when he officiated at the wedding of Tatanaki’s daughter. “The father of the bride and I forgot completely about that wedding and started to talk about a new wedding, about how to introduce this new channel to the rest of the world,” he said.

Guindy is hopeful that a new age, which he dubs the Age of Obama, is dawning in which a dialogue between Islam and the West will flourish. And he hopes his channel will play an important role in that conversation. Yet for all his modern touches, Guindy retains a deeply traditional side. He preferred to conduct our interview not in English or everyday modern Arabic, but in precise classical Arabic.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2009/05/31/idINIndia-39998720090531

Azhari TV to cater to wider audience in four other languages

By Safaa Abdoun
Daily News Egypt

CAIRO: In a bid to bridge cultural gaps and clear misconceptions about Islam, Azhari TV is reaching out to a wider audience and is now available in English, French, Urdu and Pashto in addition to its original Arabic language programming.
Azhari TV was first launched following US President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim World in June 2009 where he called for a dialogue based on mutual respect and understanding between people of different faiths.

One year later, Azhari TV, the educational and entertainment satellite channel created to promote moderate Islam, has decided to expand.
“[Through Azhari TV] we're trying to show the people in the west and the rest of the world that the problem isn't in Islam but it's the misinterpretations by certain people that's the problem,” said Hassan Tatanaki, chairman of Azhari TV, in an interview with Daily News Egypt.
The satellite channel was founded with the aim of promoting a moderate interpretation of Islam and intends to counter extremist rhetoric which they saw dominating the debate.

Breaking language barriers

Operating on a new channel, Azhari TV 2, the dub of the Arabic language channel's original content into four additional languages, will enable the station to reach homes across Europe and Asia, spreading its message of reason and tolerance.

Libyan Awalan TV

Hassan Tatanaki

Hassan Tatanaki on Challenger's history and plans for future expansion, as well as the benefits and difficulties presented by operating in Libya.

Another Interview-please watch!

Libya businessman Hassan Tatanaki Aiding Fellow Libyans

This election was about change, and we hope this includes a change in how the world sees Africa, said Libya's Hassan Tatanaki

                  Obama's African Roots on Center Stage at Pan-Africa

Inaugural Ball

Sarah Obama, Robert De Niro, Rev. Desmond Tutu to Help Boost Africa's New

Special Relationship

Much was made during the campaign about President Barack Obama's African
heritage. His roots will be definitely showing at the pan-Africa ball, where African
political leaders, NGOs, and activists will be turning up en masse to show their
support for America's first African-American President, and to symbolize the
special new relationship the continent shares with America. Among the special
guests who will welcome the new President: the President-elect's Kenyan
Grandmother Sarah Obama, actor Robert DeNiro, Nobel Peace Prize winners
Reverend Desmond Tutu and Wangari Maathai.

"This election was about change, and we hope this includes a change in how the
world sees Africa," said Libya's Hassan Tatanaki, Chairman of the Tatanaki
Foundation and one of the event's sponsors. "Africa is more than famine and
poverty and war. It is a place of beauty and history and culture as well. We are
grateful for the humanitarian commitment of previous Presidents to Africa, but we
feel Africa now has a personal connection to America, at the highest level."

To secure interviews, exclusive photos and b-roll, please contact Ethan Wagner:
1-646-673-2469 or ethanw@brownlloydjames.com

WHAT: "Africa on the Potomac," the 2009 Pan- Africa
Inaugural Ball

WHERE: 1 700 Jefferson Davis
WHEN: 6:00pm, Tuesday, January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day)

2 K>

This material is distributed by Brown Lloyd James on behalf of Challenger Limited. Additional information
is available at the Dept. Of Justice. Washington DC.  continue reading 

Libya requires emergency government

The following interview with Libyan businessman Hassan Tatanaki was conducted a few days before the sudden events took place in Libya. The General National Congress (GNC) was surprised by the military deployment led by retired Maj. Gen. Khalifa Hifter in Benghazi, Tripoli and other areas. This operation was supported by sectors of the army and has pushed the GNC to announce, in a shocking step, the election of a new parliament on June 25 to replace the GNC, whose term has expired.

Summary 

 Libyan businessman Hassan Tatanaki talked to Al-Hayat about the necessity of forming an emergency government in Libya to strengthen the army, police and judiciary, before the country becomes a source of terrorism.

Author Mohammad Ali Farhat Posted May 23, 2014

Translator(s)Joelle El-Khoury

 

Original Article  

  اقرا المقال الأصلي باللغة العربية

The elections may not be held on schedule because the events on the ground keep changing around the clock. Meanwhile, neighboring countries are closing their borders to people, the Arab League is taking action and the Maghreb countries are calling for a meeting to discuss the developments in Libya. For their part, the United Nations, the United States and Europe are watching with a great level of suspense.
Tatanaki said that Islamic political parties were controlling the GNC after they had received the consent of Western circles and became powerful. However, he considers Libya’s problem to extend beyond this, as developments reveal a desire to turn this country into a hotbed of terrorism.
Tatanaki said he is optimistic about the ability of the Libyan people, with all their revolutionaries, armed forces and tribes, to overcome chaos and deter extremist leaders that are striving to spread discord between the tribes and across the cities. He suggested the creation of an emergency government monitored by an elected parliament to enhance the army, the police and the judiciary, and respect the responsibilities of the tribes as per their customs, for deterrence. This leads to getting rid of illegal weapons and makes people trust the state security institutions and the judiciary.
As a political activist, Tatanaki said in all transparency that he helped close associates of the regime in solving the problem of the blockade resulting from the Lockerbie problem. Back then, the regime of former President Moammar Gadhafi considered him a close associate of the United States and some European countries. Some Gadhafi supporters even accused him of collaborating with these countries.