Al-Azhar Grand Imam calls to counter 'poisonous' Western media, praises Palestinian journalists

By Al-Azhar Al-Sharif

Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the ‎Muslim Council of Elders, delivered the opening address on Tuesday at the Arab Media Summit, ‎hosted by the United Arab Emirates in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed ‎bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, ‎alongside prominent Arab media leaders.‎

In his keynote speech, the Grand Imam expressed hope that the summit’s participants ‎would succeed in formulating a practical and unified Arab media strategy, one capable of ‎authentically representing the suffering and aspirations of the Ummah, and of protecting ‎its youth who are increasingly ensnared by digital platforms that manipulate emotions and ‎obscure awareness of their collective identity and responsibilities.‎

He warned of the dangerous allure of slogans such as “modernity,” “freedom,” and ‎‎“progress,” which are often used to blur the lines between virtue and vice, shaping minds ‎to accept distorted notions of morality, and infecting societies with cultural ailments that ‎distort natural human instincts and ethical standards.‎

The Grand Imam emphasized the suffering endured by Arabs and Muslims due to ‎misleading media portrayals, portrayals that falsely associate Islam with violence, ‎extremism, and gender oppression, reducing it to a political ideology of hate. He cited the ‎renowned scholar Dr. Edward Said, who wrote in “Covering Islam” that Western media ‎frequently broadcasts racially charged and demeaning images of Muslims, depicting the ‎actions of one Muslim as representative of all Muslims and of Islam itself.‎

He criticized the penetration of false narratives into Arab and Muslim societies, often ‎propagated by media figures from within who target anything with Islamic or Arab roots. ‎These narratives, he stated, have widened the gap between contemporary consciousness ‎and the cultural heritage that once served as a pillar of strength and pride for the Ummah.‎

Turning to the central issue, the Grand Imam asserted: “No just observer, East or West, ‎can deny that the issue deserving the full and constant attention of Arab media is Gaza, ‎the wars, the destruction, and the horrific violations that continue despite global ‎condemnation.” He emphasized the historical responsibility of Arab media to highlight the ‎suffering of Palestinians, their steadfastness, and their rightful cause, ensuring that the ‎Palestinian issue remains alive in global public consciousness. He welcomed the shift in ‎some European nations' stances and applauded their rekindled sense of moral duty.‎

He likewise saluted the firmness of Arab positions that continue to push for a ceasefire and ‎humanitarian access despite the arrogance of the occupiers and honored all those around ‎the world who recognize the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian catastrophe that must be ‎urgently halted.‎

The Grand Imam reaffirmed the necessity of concentrated media efforts countering ‎Islamophobia, a manufactured phenomenon aimed at vilifying Islam and degrading its ‎principles of peace, coexistence, and universal rights. He highlighted Islam’s unique ‎protections for humans, animals, plants, and even inanimate objects, protections rarely ‎matched by modern secular systems.‎

The Grand Imam further stated that poisonous Western media campaigns have not only sought to ‎distort the image of Islam and the great civilization that emerged under its guidance, a ‎civilization whose value, contributions to enlightenment, education, and human ‎advancement are well recognized even by Western scholars, but have also expanded their ‎efforts to undermine the foundational principles of Eastern civilization. These campaigns ‎aim to erode the core moral, social, and familial values of the East, pushing instead for the ‎erasure of these ethical landmarks under the banner of so-called personal freedoms.‎

Such calls, he warned, advocate for changes that threaten the very fabric of the family, ‎promoting alternative systems that compromise children's rights and permit acts ‎condemned by religious laws, human decency, and universally accepted social norms. ‎These include the legitimization of same-sex marriage, man with man and woman with ‎woman, alongside a growing push to normalize atheism and rebellion against the natural ‎disposition toward faith. All of this, he cautioned, is part of a broader agenda aimed at ‎draining the sources of strength, independence, and pride in Arab and Islamic identity. ‎These dangerous trends demand that we, especially members of the media, recognize our ‎collective responsibility to seriously reflect on how to confront this toxic wave and ‎safeguard our youth and homelands from the forces of alienation, dissolution, and ‎cultural erasure.‎

The Grand Imam also emphasized that the rapid advancement in technology and artificial ‎intelligence in our current era must be governed by a framework of ethical responsibility ‎and professional regulations. Without such safeguards, these advancements risk ‎becoming a destructive force that threatens all of humanity. He stressed that it is the duty ‎of experts and legislators, exclusively, to protect these technologies from deviating from ‎their intended purposes, basing their stewardship on humanitarian principles far removed ‎from ambitions of domination, control, or cultural conquest.‎

He pointed to the initiative he launched with the late Pope Francis to produce a ‎comprehensive document on the ethics of artificial intelligence. This project was close ‎to completion before the Pope's passing altered its course. Nevertheless, he affirmed that ‎communication with the Vatican continues under its new leadership to see the project through.‎

In conclusion, the Grand Imam invoked the tragedy of Palestinian journalists and others, ‎whose fate has compelled them to pay the ultimate price for upholding the sanctity of ‎truth and the honor of reporting reality without distortion or manipulation. More than 200 ‎journalists have been martyred in Gaza alone, with many others severely injured, maimed, ‎displaced, or bereaved. He stressed that the deliberate targeting of journalists in Gaza is a ‎calculated attempt to silence the voice of truth, suppress the damning images of brutality, ‎obscure evidence, mislead justice, and obstruct the documentation of crimes committed ‎day and night. In light of this, he called upon all those who belong to the noble profession ‎of journalism to contribute to the development of an Arab media strategy that serves as a ‎shield for truth, safeguards the values of the nation, and preserves its identity.‎