Moderate Islamic Television
From the NYTimes : January 3, 2009 Generation Faithful Preaching Moderate Islam and Becoming a TV Star By ROBERT F. WORTH JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — As Ahmad al-Shugairi took the stage, dressed in a flowing white gown and headdress, he clutched a microphone and told his audience that he had no religious training or titles: “I am not a sheik.” But over the next two hours, he worked the crowd as masterfully as any preacher, drawing rounds of uproarious laughter and, as he recalled the Prophet Muhammad’s death, silent tears. He spoke against sectarianism. He made pleas for women to be treated as equals. He talked about his own life — his seven wild years in California, his divorce, his children — and gently satirized Arab mores. Sounds like he is somewhere between a televangelist (although not so conservative) and a pundit, while avoiding any distinctly religious titles for himself. Perhaps more in line with 18th and 19th century revivalists, who also took advantage of recent technology and s...