Moez Masoud

Moez Masoud is an Egyptian television & radio presenter, lecturer and activist who focuses on the fields of spirituality, inter-faith dialogue, de-radicalization, and Islam in the modern world. In November 2011, he was described by "The Economist"[1] as one of the world's five most influential Muslim preachers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought and a research affiliate with the Psychology and Religion Research Group at the University of Cambridge, where he is currently pursuing a PhD.

Masoud is well-respected by his peers as a Hafiz of the Qur’an (one who has memorized the entire Qur’an). He grew up speaking English and colloquial Arabic. Masoud is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, and has studied Islamic Theology & Sciences under the tutelage of numerous prominent scholars for over eight years. His studies have taken him to many cities in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries in search of all authentic sources that convey the inner, esoteric spirit of Islam as well as the orthodox understanding of its Sacred law.

During his university years, Masoud began to become popular as a discussion group leader. This led to his first Islam related show; the English language Parables in the Qur'an which garnered a wide global viewership, including a significant audience in North America. His episodes were seen as encouraging Muslims to live a successful contemporary life while embodying their religion's core spiritual teachings. His first Arabic program was “Al-Tareeq Al-Sah” (The Enlightened Path), which premiered during Ramadan 2007 and was filmed on location in Cairo, Jeddah, Istanbul, London and Madinah. The series addressed poignant and largely taboo issues facing the Muslim world, including drugs, alcohol, gender relations, homosexuality and the roots of terrorism. The show’s aim was to juxtapose a traditional understanding of Islam with post-modern society, "highlighting the conflict and often-surprising reconciliation between traditionalism and modernity". “Al-Tareeq Al-Sah” generated over 1.5 million downloads on Youtube. His latest series, which aired in 2011, was called "Thawra 'ala El-Nafs" (A Revolution Within the Soul), and aired on Egyptian state television for the first time (Masoud - like all influential figures - was banned from appearing on official state TV during Mubarak's reign). It also aired on CBC, a post-revolution popular satellite channel, and as a radio segment on Nogoum FM, Cairo's no. 1 radio station, making it accessible to millions of viewers and listeners across the country.

Masoud’s career in media also includes directing, writing, and producing various content highlighting the need for global mutual understanding between disparate ideologies. His efforts have attracted much critical acclaim and have contributed to an expansion of dialogue between activists in the Arab world regarding the need for formal Islamic religious discourse to encompass and attend to nuanced issues faced by Muslims in the contemporary world.

Masoud is regularly invited to give lectures and lead workshops and his travels have taken him from all over the United States and Europe to Malaysia and Australia, attracting substantial coverage by both Western and Arab media. Recently, Masoud was invited to join the 'On Faith' online forum, hosted by The Washington Post and Newsweek to participate in regular discussions centered around faith and religion. At The Search for Mutual Understanding (an inter-faith conference held in Abu Dhabi in 2006) he gave a speech titled "Islam in the Modern World" (available on YouTube). It has been viewed on YouTube over 2 million times.

Masoud was named “Egypt’s most influential religious figure of the year" in 2008, and was featured in Georgetown University's “The 500 Most Influential Muslims of 2009,” published by the Georgetown Center for Muslim-Christian understanding, and later in both the 2010 & 2011 versions, published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center respectively. After his role in the Egyptian revolution (see below), Masoud participated in the first post-revolution Egyptian National Dialogue and has since become a key player in the social, political and economic reformation of Egypt. He is active on various social media networks, including Facebook and Twitter, where he has approximately one million followers online.

1 Programs
2 Role in Egyptian Revolution 2011
3 Sources
4 References
5 External links

Programs

Parables in the Qur'an (English language)
Stairway to Paradise (English language, 2006)
The Right Way (Arabic language, 2007-2010)
The Right Way: Revolution Within (Arabic language, 2011)

Role in Egyptian Revolution 2011

Masoud attended the demonstrations in Tahrir Square in January 2011, and used his public position to mobilize others to attend the demonstrations as well. On January 31st, he declared live on Egyptian television that it would "honor him to be one in a million in the first million-man march" planned for the next day (February 1st), and then invited everyone to join. He went on to refute all detracting claims that foreign powers were behind the demonstrations, affirming that a huge number of Egyptians were clearly demanding radical change in the country and would not leave the square until their demands were met. Masoud concluded the interview saying that it would only be a matter of days before things would settle in favor of the revolution, and then addressed Hosni Mubarak directly, saying that his delay in response could only cause more bloodshed, and that his resignation was becoming inevitable. The next day he addressed the president again live, this time on Al-Arabiya new channel, and stated that Mubarak could not possibly bear the consequences of earning God's wrath as a result of the damage he was doing to Egypt by not genuinely responding to the revolution's demands while the nation suffered. Masoud appeared live on BBC World on February 11th (the day Mubarak finally stepped down), declaring that "Pharaoh has let his people go" [2], and gave spiritual reflections on the historic event.