Head of al-Arabiya news network resigns over programming dispute

Sep 16, 2010, 10:25 GMT

Cairo - The head of a major pan-Arab satellite news network, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel, has handed in his resignation, the parent company announced Thursday.

The move came after an apparent dispute over recently broadcast content, which touched on the sensitive issue of a perceived link in the West between Islam and terrorism.

The channel's director general, Abdel-Rahman al-Rashed, handed in his notice of resignation, the Middle East Broadcasting Corp announced. But the chairman said he had yet to accept the move.

'Al-Rashed chose to resign to take responsibility for some errors which appeared on the screen during the recent period,' MBC Chairman Sheikh Walid al-Ibrahim said in a statement, adding that he did not yet accept al-Rashid's resignation.

Sources said that a dispute began after Al-Arabiya recently aired an episode of the Islam and the West programme, which saw pundits debate why some in Europe and North America associated the religion with terrorism.

During a round table, guests discussed the legacy of the 18th century Islamic theologian Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahab. During that segment, one guest blamed the thinker's views for the terrorism charges in the West.

Abdul Wahab is considered the father of what is known as the Wahabism movement, one of the most stringent forms of Islamic thought, and the one to which the conservative monarchy in Saudi Arabia adheres.

The resignation comes after the popular al-Rashid, known for his liberal views, ended his regular column in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat, which is also owned by a Saudi group.

'We share responsibility together for everything that appeared on screen, which was not at all intentional,' al-Ibrahim said in his statement.

The Dubai-based Al-Arabiya is a prominent Arab news channel that was launched in 2003 and is the main rival of Qatar's Al-Jazeera.