| Amr Khaled عمرو خالد |
|
|---|---|
| Born | September 5, 1967 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Occupation | activist/ muslim preacher / Accountant |
| Religion | Islam |
Amr Mohamed Helmi Khaled[1] (Arabic: عمرو محمد حلمي خالد; born September 5, 1967) is an Egyptian Muslim activist and television preacher. The New York Times Magazine, in reference to Khaled's popularity in Arab countries, described him in its April 30, 2006 issue as "the world's most famous and influential Muslim television preacher." Amr Khaled has recently been chosen as number 13 of the world's most influential people by Time Magazine.[2]
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Amr Khaled was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He graduated from Cairo University in 1988 with a degree in Accounting. In 2001, he received a diploma from an Islamic Studies Institute. He received his Ph.D at the University of Wales, Lampeter in May 2010 with a grade of A.[3][4] He began preaching in mosques in 1990 while still working as an accountant. In 1998, he moved to full-time preaching, primarily on satellite television. Khaled's popular lectures, which can be seen on the IQRA channel via the NILESAT direct broadcast satellites, are also distributed over the Internet and on audio and video cassette tapes.
Amr Khaled rejects extremism and strongly denounces the actions of Osama bin Laden. He announced that Arab Muslims want to live peacefully in coexistence with the West. His main teachings remain the same as those before him in more modern media, talking about everyday actions to get closer to Allah such as honesty, humbleness, and being polite. He believes that for society to improve it must change from the grassroots (from the bottom up). Khaled promotes community development in the Arabic and Muslim nation based on what he terms "Faith Based Development" (Arabic: التنمية بالإيمان). The idea is for people to develop their communities and countries with faith as their motivator and guide.
Khaled's primary audience consists of Arabs ages fifteen through thirty-five who come from the upper middle class.[5] Khaled believes these are the ones most capable of changing the Islamic world. He is noted for his understandable everyday language and his friendly approach, even joking at times during his lectures.
In 2008, in an open online poll, Khaled was voted the 6th topmost intellectual person in the world on the list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals by Prospect Magazine (UK) and Foreign Policy (United States).[6]
Call for Coexistence (Arabic: دعوة للتعايش) is a TV program 2007, presented by Amr Khaled.
Life Makers (Arabic: صناع الحياة) was a TV program aired from 2004 to 2005, presented by Amr Khaled, and is the main concept of his life. In this program the focus shifts from purely religious talk to action projects. The stated goal of the program is to produce a renaissance for the Arab and Muslim world. Projects in agriculture, education, small industries, health care, and other fields have been started and they are in progress.
On the Path of the Beloved (Arabic: على خطى الحبيب) was Amr Khaled's show for Ramadan 2005 in which he recounted and discussed the life journey (Sira) of the prophet Muhammad. This show focused on Muhammad's personal side and how he dealt with difficult situations in his life.
In Thy Name We Live (Arabic:باسمك نحيا) was Amr Khaled's show for Ramadan 2006, aired live at 7:30 GMT every night from Makkah. The main concept of this show was strengthening viewers' faith through the meanings of the Names of God in the Qur'an.
Qur'an Stories (Arabic:قصص القرآن) is Amr Khaled’s recent show for Ramadan 2008, in which he focused on the moral lessons not only of prophets but normal people as well. The main idea of this program is to full the viewers with enthusiasm to be more active and affect their society positively.
Tomorrow is better (Arabic : بكرا إحلى) is a show that began in May 6, 2011, in ESC (Egyptian space channel). In this show, he is not in a studio but in the streets of Cairo.
In December 2010, Khaled was invited by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to preach and broadcast in Yemen, to counter the growth of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups in the country causing chronic instability there.[7]
The British Sunday Times reported on May 30, 2004 that Sir Andrew Turnbull, the cabinet secretary and one of Tony Blair’s closest aides, intended to seek Amr Khaled's aid in furthering the British government’s agenda regarding Muslims. This article hurt Khaled's reputation among those Muslims who are resentful of the attitude of current western governments towards them.[8]
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