Ahlulbayt Television Network is the first exclusively English-language

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic television channel. The channel was launched with much fanfare on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

in the UK on 17 August 2009 and two months later on the

Galaxy 19 Galaxy 19 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 97° West longitude, serving the North American market. Galaxy 19 replaced Galaxy 25 which is nearing the end of its design life and has been moved to 93.1°W longitude ...

platform covering North America from its London headquarters. A few months into its operations it also expanded to Atlantic Bird 4A (Nilesat) which covers the Middle East and North Africa. The channel now broadcasts by satellite only from

Astra 2G Astra 2G is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES, launched to the Astra 28.2°E orbital position on 27 December 2014, at 21:37:49 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Astra 2G is positioned at 28.5° East (part of t ...

at 28.2°E The nonprofit religious channel, whose name is Arabic for the 'Holy Household', referring to the progeny of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, is staffed by British professionals from various backgrounds. In an interview in 2004 with a Kuwaiti magazine, Sayed Mahdi al-Modarresi had announced his hopes to launch the channel to "show the true, undistorted nature of Islam and Islamic civilization to the West". Ahlulbayt TV frequently features prominent Shia Muslims scholars and intellectuals including Sayed Fadhel Milani, Sayed Mahdi Modarresi, Sayed Mustafa Qazwini, Sayed Mohammad Rizvi, Sayed Mohammed Mousawi, Rebecca Masterton, Zahra Al Alawi, Amina Inloes, as well as others, and also broadcast live video feeds from the Holy City of

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

. The network's line-up includes several live call-in shows featuring guests who are invited to discuss religious and social matters. The channel, which seems to enjoy great popularity amongst Western-born Muslim youths, was also featured in Shelina Janmohamed's book Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World. The channel preaches moderation and has several shows dedicated to women, presented by females from various backgrounds. "Reverts World" is also a weekly show dedicated to highlighting the challenges faced by converts. Its stated aim is to "serve the new generation of Muslims living in the West, addressing contemporary issues through cutting-edge programming and world-class shows" In early 2010 the channel launched its on-screen news ticker which frequently condemned "terrorist attacks" and extremist statements. To refocus the channel towards its religious and cultural ethos, the news ticker has since been taken down. The channel's financial backing comes from viewers' donations and frequently asks viewers to partner with it in addition to ads and sponsorships.

References

External links

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Council of European Jamaats Press Release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahlulbayt TV Islamic television networks Shia media English-language television stations in the United Kingdom Religious television channels in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2009