Al-Manar
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Al-Manar () is a Lebanese
satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
station owned and operated by the Islamist political party and paramilitary group
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
,Germany bans Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV Channel
21 November 2008, Ya Libnan
broadcasting from
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, Lebanon. The channel was launched on 4 June 1991 as a terrestrial channel and in 2000 as a satellite channel. It is a member of the Arab States Broadcasting Union. The station reaches around 50 million people. The station is considered one of Hezbollah's most important global propaganda tools, with the
Danish Institute for International Studies The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS, Danish: ) is a public sector research institute for independent research and analysis of international affairs, financed primarily by the Danish state. DIIS conducts and communicates multidis ...
describing it as "the very centrepiece of the entire ezbollahmedia apparatus". It is banned in the United States, France, Spain, and Germany, and has run into some service and license problems outside Lebanon, making it unavailable in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,Radio Netherlands Worldwide Blo
Iranian commentator reacts to Dutch ban on two satellite TV stations
Retrieved 30 July 2006
Radio Netherlands Worldwide Blo
Two Islamic TV stations banned in the Netherlands
Retrieved 30 July 2006
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.ABA News Release NR 135/2004 22 October 200
ABA investigation into Al Manar programming on TARBS
Retrieved 15 August 2006
According to the
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...
in 2017, "Al-Manar has an annual budget of roughly $15 million, much of it supplied by wealthy expatriate Lebanese donors and various Iranian community organizations, and income from the sale of its shows."


History

Al-Manar first began terrestrial broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon on 4 June 1991. The station was located in Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut, close to Hezbollah's headquarters. Originally, the station had only a few employees, who had studied media in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
during the mid-1980s. But almost a year later, Al-Manar was employing over 150 people. Initially, Al Manar would broadcast five hours per day. Shortly before the 1992 election, it began broadcasting regular news bulletins in order to help Hezbollah attain more votes and spread its message to more people. In 1993, the station expanded its broadcasting to seven hours a day and extended its signal to the southern part of the Bekaa Valley. Ahead of the 1996 Lebanese parliamentary elections, additional antennas were erected in Northern Lebanon and throughout the
Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
range, so that the station could be viewed not only in Lebanon, but also in western
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and northern Israel. Broadcasting was extended to 20 hours in 1998 but reduced to 18 hours in 2000 and 24 in 2001. In 1996, the Lebanese government granted broadcasting licenses to five television stations, not including Al-Manar. Approximately 50 stations were forced to close at the time. Several stations appealed the government's decision, but only four of them were finally granted licenses, one of which was Al-Manar. On 18 September, the Lebanese Cabinet decided to grant Al-Manar a license after having been requested to do so by then Syrian
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...
. Al-Manar received the license in July 1997. It started in this period to embed journalists with Hezbollah fighters, showing video of Israeli casualties, and including
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
so Israeli viewers could follow, with the aim of sowing fear among Israeli viewers. The station's website was launched in 1999, at first hosting some recordings of Hassan Nasrallah speeches to a background of religious and nationalist music. On 24/25 June 1999 the IAF launched two massive air raids across Lebanon. One of the targets was the al-Manar radio station's offices in a four storey building in
Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...
which was completely demolished. The attacks also hit Beirut's power stations and bridges on the roads to the south. An estimated $52 million damage was caused. Eleven Lebanese were killed as well as two Israelis in
Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona () is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanon, Lebanese border. In it had a population of . Located near the Blue Line (withdrawal line), Israel ...
.


Satellite broadcasting

During the 1990s, the popularity of
satellite broadcasting Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
greatly increased in the
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
and in Lebanon. The first Lebanese station to use this technology was Future Television, launching Future International SAT in 1994, while LBCI and the Lebanese government followed by launching LBCSAT and Tele Liban Satellite respectively. In order to compete with these emerging stations, and in order to find an international audience, Al-Manar announced its intention to launch a satellite channel on 9 March 2000. Muhammad Ra'd, a Hezbollah member of parliament and al-Manar's largest shareholder, submitted the request to the minister of transmission, which was approved in April 2000. Although the launch of the satellite station was originally planned for July, the date was moved up in order to coincide with the end of the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon on 25 May. This success led other television stations to follow in launching satellite stations, including Murr TV in November 2000, but it was shut down for "violating an election law prohibiting
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
" – a fate which al-Manar did not meet, although its programming was also considered propaganda by many analysts. ArabSat, a leading communications satellite operator in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, headquartered in
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, was at first wary about collaborating with al-Manar, because of the station's Shi'a agenda – the two companies agreed, however, that the programming would be adapted to the pan-Arab audience, leading to a slight difference between the local broadcast and the one via satellite. At first, only three hours of satellite programming were broadcast per day, but by December 2000, the station was broadcasting around the clock. The timing of the satellite launch - covering the Israeli withdrawal and also the start of the
Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
- boosted its audience in the Arab world. Al-Manar was soon carried by many satellite providers. However, starting with the removal of the station from TARBS World TV in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 2003, many satellite television providers stopped featuring it. Until then the station was featured by the following providers at one time or another: *
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
, broadcasting to
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* New Skies Satellites NSS-803,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and parts of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
* ArabSat, Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe, Saudi-owned * Hispasat,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
*
AsiaSat Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) is a Hong Kong–based commercial operator of communications satellites founded in 1988. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited (AsiaSat ...
,
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
* Nilesat, part-owned by the Egyptian government *
Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it has been the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Its subsidiary E ...
, Europe, North Africa, and Middle East * SES Astra, Europe According to the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
on 26 July 2006, Al-Manar had three satellite signals: * ArabSat 2B at 30.5 degrees east * Badr 3 at 26 degrees east * NileSat 102 at 7 degrees west By 2004, Al Manar was estimated to hold 10-15 million viewers daily worldwide.archived from the New Yorker
/ref>


2000s: Israeli attacks and global growth

The station's website team expanded in 2004, from four members to thirteen. During the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
, the channel was continuously struck by missiles during Israeli air raids. The
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
attacks on 13 July 2006 led to injury of three employees. The attack on Al-Manar's facilities shortly followed another strike against the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut earlier that morning. Despite the attack, the station remained on air, broadcasting from undisclosed locations. The IDF bombed Al-Manar's Beirut complex again on 16 July causing fire in the complex and surrounding buildings. The station's signal disappeared briefly several times, then continued normal programming.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
said the bombing of media outlets violates
international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
when they are not being used for
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
purposes ("it is unlawful to attack facilities that merely shape
civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
opinion; neither directly contributes to military operations"). The incident was condemned by the
International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...
. The Israel Association of Journalists withdrew from the federation in response, claiming that Al-Manar employees "are not journalists, they are terrorists". The New York based
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
, also expressed alarm over the incident as "it (Al-Manar) does not appear based on a monitoring of its broadcasts today to be serving any discernible military function, according to CPJ's analysis." The Israeli bombing increased the station's popularity:
With other channels turning to Al Manar for the latest line from Hizbullah, it could set the regional news agenda and bring viewers to its extensive coverage of the war. Indeed, purely by staying on air, Al Manar could claim a success. According to Israel's Market Research, the channel's popularity rankings in the Middle East leapt from 83rd to the 10th slot between July 15 and 28. This meant a substantial increase to the estimated 10 million people that tune in daily to its terrestrial and satellite channels in normal times.
In 2006, it began to broadcast online to complement its terrestrial and satellite output. By 2008, its website was hosting 100 new items a day, and reaching over 26,000 daily viewers, and as many as 55,000 according to its management. By the end of the 2000s, as well as TV broadcasts in Arabic, Hebrew, French and English, the station's website was available in Spanish as well. As a result of removal from some satellite services in the 2000s, it signed new deals with smaller satellite providers, e.g. in April 2008 with
Indosat PT Indosat Tbk, trade name, trading as Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, abbreviated as IOH, is an Indonesian telecommunications provider which is owned by Ooredoo Hutchison Asia, a joint venture between Ooredoo and Hutchison Asia Telecom Group (a part ...
, the operator of the Palapa C2 satellite owned by
Telkom Indonesia PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk () officially shortened into PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, also simply known as Telkom, is an Indonesian multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, in which the Indonesian government is the majority shareholder. By 2009, al-Manar was watched by some 18 million people globally. By 2010, its annual budget was $10 million.


2013 Bahrain crisis

Iranian-backed
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 ...
groups were involved in demonstrations starting in mid-2011 (as part of the "
Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
") against
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
's ruling
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
oligarchy, and al-Manar backed these demonstrations and condemned the government repression of them. In late December 2013, the Lebanese Communication Group that includes Al-Manar apologised for its partisan coverage of the events at a meeting of the Arab States Broadcasting Union. In response, Hebollah forced the Director General of the station, Abdallah Qasir or Kassir (a former MP of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc), to resign. He went to Iran.


2020s

According to Orayb Aref Najjar, after the US
assassination of Qasem Soleimani On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was Targeted killing, killed by an American drone strike ordered by U.S. president Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, while travelling to meet Iraqi prime mi ...
, leader of the Iran’s
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...
on January 3, 2020, "Al-Manar went on a daily attack on U.S. policy on Iran and the region, promising revenge." Al-Manar translates its content into Spanish for circulation in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. On 25 October 2023, as the 2023
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
spread to southern Lebanon, Al-Manar reported that its camera operator, Wissam Qassim, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Hasbaiyya, southern Lebanon, alongside two employees of allied website Al Mayadeen, while they slept in chalets used by journalists. The station's studios in Dahiyeh, southern Beirut, were hit in Israeli airstrikes in early October 2024.


Content

Al-Manar's programming is diverse, including music shows, children's programmes and news. The ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', said in 2004 that "It heavily covers events involving the Palestinians, and it shows militants setting off explosives and shooting at Israelis and American troops, often to musical accompaniment." Citing the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the ''Post'' said it often features Islamic sacred texts and images of martyrdom. According to the Washington Institute's 2004 analysis, it consists of 25%
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s and
fillers In animal feed, a filler is an ingredient added to provide dietary fiber, bulk or some other non-nutritive purpose. Products like corn fiber (corncobs), fruit fibers (pulp), rice bran, and whole grains are possible fillers. Purpose As source ...
, 25% series and
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
s, 25%
talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...
s, and finally 25% news and family shows. A 2007 analysis described 65% of its content as entertainment and 35% as political.


Programs

The news programming includes much footage from the international press. Additionally, as of early 2004, the station subscribed to
wire service A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...
s including
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
,
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(AP),
Agence France Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...
, and Deutsche Presse Agentur. As of 2004, the station airs eight news bulletins a day in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
in addition to one in English and one in French. AP severed ties with the station shortly after this. Al-Manar primarily uses Iranian and Syrian government news agencies for news and documentaries. It has had a formal co-operation agreement with IRNA since 2012. On its websites it also republishes material verbatim from
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
's state broadcaster RT. It extensively screens Iranian films (which it sees as "culturally in harmony with Arab values and Al Manar’s mostly Shiite audience") and television series including
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
s, dubbed into (and later more often subtitled in)
Modern Standard Arabic Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA) is the variety of Standard language, standardized, Literary language, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and in some usages al ...
, as well as Syrian series. Several talk shows are regularly aired on al-Manar. According to Avi Jorisch of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the best known of these is ''Beit al-ankabut'' (''The Spider's House''); its title alludes to a
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
, Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...
often employs to describe Israel. It is dedicated to uncovering the "weakness of the Zionist entity", i.e. Israel, and attempts to convince the Arab world that Israel could easily be destroyed, for example, by an increase in the Arab population. Further talk shows include ''Hadith al-sa'a'' (''Talk of the Hour''), ''Matha ba'ad'' (''What's Next?''), ''Ma'al Hadath'' (''With The Event''), ''Bayna Kawsayn'' (''Between The Brackets''), ''Milafat'' (''Files''), ''Al-din wa al-hayat'' (''Religion and Life''), and ''Nun wa al-qalam'' (''The 'Nun' and the Pen''). Guests include well-known journalists, analysts, writers, Lebanese politicians, spokespersons of terrorist groups, and Islamic scholars, who then discuss current religious, political, and cultural, regional and global topics. Al-Manar often airs music videos and fillers in between full-length programs and during commercial breaks. Much of the music praises Hezbollah and its martyrs or the Palestinian intifada. According to Jorisch, the music videos are generally dedicated to the following seven purposes: the promotion of the Hezbollah, highlighting the importance of armed resistance against Israel, the glorification of
martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...
, spreading of
anti-Americanism Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...
, denunciation of Israel and Zionism as the embodiments of terrorism, the appeals for the destruction of Israel, and the depiction of the future of Arab youths. The videos are on average three minutes long. The videos are usually professionally produced by the station itself and each usually takes about three to four days to make. The filler material usually consists of appeals to donate money to the Hezbollah, lists of demonstrations taking place worldwide, and slogans in English,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, or Arabic. The station also offers
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
broadcasting such as the programs ''Goal'' and ''Tis'in daqiqa'' (''Ninety Minutes''), family programming such as ''Al-mustakshifoun al-judud'' (''The New Explorers''), ''Al-Muslimoun fi al-Sin'' (''Muslims in China''), and ''Ayday al-khayr'' (''Hands of Benevolence''), game shows including ''Al-mushahid shahid'' (''The Viewer Is the Witness''), where contestants attempt to guess the names of Israeli political and military figures, and ''Al-muhima'' (''The Mission'') - a game show in the style of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, cu ...
'' but with questions on Arab and Islamic history and the victor winning a virtual trip to the
Al-Aqsa Mosque The Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel is the main congregational mosque or Musalla, prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also n ...
in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and even a children's program called ''Al-manr al-saghir'' (''The Little Manar''), which is in the style of the US show '' Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'', targeting three- to seven-year-olds. During
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
, al-Manar features special programs, many of which are self-produced. In 2001, ''Izz al-Din al-Qassam: Qisat al-jihad wa al-muqawama'' (''Izz al-Din al-Qassam: A Story of Jihad and Resistance''), a four-part drama based on the life of Izz al-Din al-Qassam, an early-twentieth-century Arab, after whom the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB; ), are the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his death on 13 July 2024, Al-Qassam Brigades ar ...
are named. The 2002 program ''Faris bi la jawad'' (''A Knight without a Horse'' or''The Horseless Rider''), which was produced by an
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian, was based on ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...
'', an old Russian
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
text claiming a conspiracy of
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
control the world. The 29-part series '' Ash-Shatat'' (''The Diaspora''), which was aired in 2003, was also based on ''The Protocols''; Commissioned by Al-Manar and produced in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, its screening on the channel led to the banning of al-Manar in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The station archives the complete speeches of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and those of Iranian leader
Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...
. It also promotes Hezbollah social services, for example showcasing public health initiatives.


Stance

According to ''The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism'', "Al-Manar does not claim neutrality but bills itself as partisan to the cause of its constituents, initially, the disadvantaged and poor Shi’ia of ebanon'sSouth and the Beka’a valley; later expanded to include the Arab and Islamic worlds." Its adopted slogan is “The channel for Arabs and Muslims”. In 2001, the station's chair, Nayyef Krayyem, said "Al Manar is an important weapon for us. It's a political weapon, social weapon, and cultural weapon." According to Jorisch, the station manager Mohammad Afif Ahmad (later Hezbollah's head of media), said in the 1990s that Al Manar belongs to Hezbollah culturally and politically. As of 2022, its former CEO, Abdallah Kassir, is now a member of Hezbollah's governing council. According to Jorisch, writing in ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' in 2004, Al-Manar's programming adopts a strongly anti-Israel and anti-US point of view. Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...
often "calls for '
Death to America "Death to America" is an anti-American political slogan widely used in Iran,Arash KaramiKhomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013 Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. Ruhollah Khomeini, the f ...
'" on the channel and the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
is depicted "as a
ghoul In folklore, a ghoul (from , ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid, often associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. In the legends or tales in which they appear, a ghoul is far more ill-mannered and foul than go ...
, her gown dripping blood, a knife instead of a torch in her raised hand." According to Orayb Aref Najjar, this stance is reflected in the language used, for instance calling the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) the "Israeli Occupation Forces" (IOF).
Its Hot Topics section lists “The Israeli Enemy” as a search category. Al-Manar calls fighters Israel killed martyrs. Hezbollah fighters often leave archived video wills that explain why they chose martyrdom. The station also archives short video clips of family members or friends of martyrs praising their sacrifice and explaining why it benefits the country. The station glorified its martyrs on Martyr Day on November 11, 2019, with a speech by Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and in song and resistance videos.
According to German public television ARD in 2023, al-Manar broadcasts calls for the destruction of Israel, such as statements from
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
. Hashem Safieddine, chairman of the Hezbollah Executive Council, used the channel to warn US President Joe Biden, Israel's Prime Minister President Netanyahu and the "evil Europeans" about his organization. Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in 2002 that the channel "broadcasts anti-American programming, but its main purpose is to encourage Palestinians to become suicide bombers", and ARD said in 2023 that some of its content glorifies suicide bombers, and this was also noted in some early reports about the channel; however, a 2006 analysis by the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies said that it was no longer screening this type of content. Al-Manar was once described as one of the channels, among other complex reasons, of the spread of
Shiism 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 to ...
in Syria in the years before 2009. In a 2011 poll, 52% percent of Shia Lebanese identified Al Manar TV as their first choice for news, compared with only 4% of Sunnis and Druze and 1% of Christians. The station is also closely aligned to Iran. In 2015,
Asharq Al-Awsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' (, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted for its distinctive green-tinted pages. Although pu ...
reported that Nasser Akhdar, a senior manager at al-Manar, was part of a Houthi delegation in peace talks relating to the Yemeni civil war. A 2021 report by the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), a conservative thinktank at
Reichman University Reichman University () is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC Herzliya, ) private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives n ...
, noted that Farahat, now al-Manar CEO and a Hezbollah member is on the board of
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
-based Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU), described as a
soft power In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-option, co-opt rather than coerce (in contrast with hard power). It involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Soft power is ...
operation for the Iranian state.


Journalistic standards and restrictions

Interviewed by Jeffrey Goldberg in 2002, Al Manar's news director, Hassan Fadlallah, said that Al Manar does not aim to be neutral in its broadcasting, "Neutrality like that of
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
is out of the question for us," Fadlallah said. "We cover only the victim, not the aggressor.
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
is the Zionist news network, Al Jazeera is neutral, and Al Manar takes the side of the Palestinians...He said Al Manar's opposition to neutrality means that, unlike Al Jazeera, his station would never feature interviews or comments by Israeli officials. "We're not looking to interview Sharon," Fadlallah said. "We want to get close to him in order to kill him." The Israeli government and its supporters have consequently lobbied Western governments to ban it, with Anti-Defamation League,
CAMERA A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
, the American Jewish Congress, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Middle East Media Research Institute all campaigning against it and taking credit for some successes in its deplatforming. Their campaigning led to corporations such as Pepsi removing their ads from the station in the mid-2000s, costing it an estimated $2 million in revenue.


Allegations of antisemitism and conspiracy theories


9/11 Conspiracy theories

Al-Manar was one of the originators of the myth that Israelis stayed home from the World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on September 11 2001 due to foreknowledge of the attacks, publishing the story on 17 September.


Allegations of antisemitic programming

In the past, Al-Manar TV has aired material deemed antisemitic by Reporters Without Borders as well as Jewish groups, including content based on "
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...
". For example, on 23 November 2004 it transmitted a news programme in which someone presented as an expert on Zionism Al-Manar warned of ng of "Zionist attempts" to transmit AIDS to Arab countries; in 2004 it screened a multi-episode Syrian series that included the blood libel and drew on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. As a result, Jewish groups have campaigned about the station. In 2004, the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (Crif) complained to France's Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (Higher Audio Visual Council, CSA) that scenes in the Syrian-made series, ''Al-Shatat'' (The Diaspora), which purported to depict the history of the Zionist movement, portrayed the blood libel, killing of a Christian child by Jews to use the victim's blood. On 13 December 2004, the French Council of State (France), Conseil d'État, the highest administrative court in France, ordered the French-based
Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it has been the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Its subsidiary E ...
Satellite organisation (owner of Hot Bird 4, which had transmitted the station) to shut down Al-Manar broadcasts. Initially, Al-Manar defended ''Ash-Shatat'' as "purely factual", and said that the French response was political and not legal, influenced by Israel and Jewish lobby, Jewish lobbies. Later, however, "Al-Manar’s management apologized for airing the series, dropped it, and explained that the station had purchased it without first viewing the entire series, according to Franklin Lamb [in ''CounterPunch'']." In 2002, Jeffrey Goldberg interviewed members of the station's staff and reported some of their comments about Jews. He quoted the news director, Hassan Fadlallah, as saying “Many Europeans believe that the Holocaust was a myth invented so that the Jews could get compensation. Everyone knows how the Jews punish people who seek the truth about the Holocaust.” He quoted the director of English-language news, Ibrahim Mussawi, calling Jews “a lesion on the forehead of history.”


Covid conspiracies

According to The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, al-Manar "condemned the United States for ‘using’ COVID-19 to ‘undermine’ its adversaries".


Restrictions


Restrictions in the US

Al-Manar was designated as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity", and banned by the United States on 17 December 2004. A US government spokesman said the decision was taken because of "its incitement of terrorist activity", and that anybody linked to Al-Manar would be refused a visa to enter the US or if present in the US would be subject to expulsion procedures. Al-Manar was also removed from the satellite provider in the US,
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
, and Globecast, the TV service that hosted its US programming. Lebanon's ambassador to the United States, Farid Abboud, protested: "If you want simply to demonize or eliminate one side, you're not going to advance the issue. If you are going to focus on one side simply because of the political message, it's unacceptable and it's a grave breach of the freedom of speech.". Reporters without Borders opposed the designation, saying "Some of the anti-Semitic statements broadcast on Al-Manar are inexcusable but putting this TV station in the same category as terrorist groups worries us and does not strike us as the best solution". The decision was also opposed by the
International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...
, who called it political censorship, and by French academic and Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson. In 2006, the US terrorist designation was extended to all Lebanon Media Group outlets, and its financial assets were frozen by the US Treasury. The Treasury said al-Manar had provided support to Palestinian groups defined as terrorist by the US government, including by transfer of tens of millions of dollars to a charity linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In May 2023, the US government sanctioned and took down a number of Hezbollah-related web domains, including that of Al-Manar TV, after Hezbollah was listed as a terrorist organization by the United States. Al Manar’s Lebanese domain (.lb) remained accessible.


Broadcasting restrictions

In October 2003, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) launched an investigation into it, leading to Al-Manar's suspension from the TARBS World TV, Television and Radio Broadcasting Services PTY (TARBS). The investigation related to accusations that it "broadcast programs that are likely to incite or perpetuate hatred against or gratuitously vilify any person or group on the basis of their ethnicity, nationality, Race (classification of human beings), race or religion" and suspicions it might be in breach of Australian Federal anti-terrorism law. TARBS stopped broadcasting al-Manar on 5 November 2003, and went into receivership. In August 2009, Al-Manar received approval for broadcast by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. In November 2004, after the controversy in France about Al-Manar's broadcast of ''Ash-Shatat'', the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) entered into an agreement with the Lebanese Communication Group under which the channel would not air material that would not "respect the political, cultural and religious sensitivities of Europeans" and "not to broadcast programmes likely to cause problems with public order". Within days, the CSA deemed Al-Manar not to have met this, citing an interviewee accusing Israel of spreading AIDS in the Arab world in November 2004, and a clip “inciting violence” against Israel, leading to the removal of the channel from both Eustat and Arabsat. French officials also cited other broadcasts saying Jews "seek children's blood to bake into Passover matzoh." Other broadcasts cited by the CSA as racist incitement were "Flambeau sur la route de Jérusalem" and "Le Prince du paradis". After the United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State placed Al-Manar on the Terrorist Exclusion List in December 2004, transmissions to North America via
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
's satellites were blocked.Reuters, 18 December 200
U.S. designates Al-Manar TV as 'terrorist'
Retrieved 1 August 2006
Javed Iqbal, a resident of New York City, was the first person to charged under this law. He was charged by federal prosecutors with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by broadcasting Al Manar to American customers via his company HDTV, in exchange for thousands of dollars payment. In a 2008 plea bargain, he agreed to serve a prison term of up to years. Saleh Elahwal, who also operated HDTV, was also charged and went on trial 5 January 2009. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says it's constitutional for the government to outlaw businesses with direct operational ties to terrorist organizations, and media outlets that directly incite and direct violent action, but in this case, the government is trying to stop the spread of ideas.N.Y. Man Charged with Aiding Hezbollah TV Channel
NPR, Weekend Edition 27 August 2006, Liane Hansen, host.
Mark Dubowitz, who founded the Coalition Against Terrorist Media in part to stop Al-Manar, said Al-Manar was "shouting fire in a crowded theater", although Lieberman disagreed with that metaphor. The lack of transmission from Intelsat had the effect of making Al-Manar unavailable in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. In 2005, the Netherlands, Dutch Media Authority "discovered that a satellite owned by New Skies Satellites was carrying Al-Manar and has ordered the company to stop doing so, because the channel did not have the required Dutch licence." Spanish authorities banned the retransmission of Al-Manar by Hispasat on 30 June 2005 (which effectively prevents its reception not only in the Iberian peninsula but also in South America).Commission of the European Communitie
Commission document SEC (2006) 160
Retrieved 31 July 2006
In August 2006, France Telecom's satellite provider Globecast removed the station from its Asiasat offer of channels. It was banned in Germany in 2008. In 2013,
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
blocked its website. In 2015, Arabsat, a satellite operator majority-owned by
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, removed the station from its platform after Nasrallah blamed the Saudi government for a fatal stampede, at the hajj pilgrimage that year.


Internet and social media

The channel provides a live feed of its programming on the Internet through its website. This effectively circumvents the bans as Al-Manar is still available in all the areas it does not broadcast to via satellite. Twitter removed its account in November 2019. On 22 June 2021, the official Al-Manar website domain as well as dozens of other Arab news network domains related to Iran, Lebanon and Syria were shut down by the government of the United States for spreading disinformation. It was also banned by multiple social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit.


Broadcasting via illegal IPTV services and streaming devices

According to a 2008 report by the security company Nagravision, NAGRA and the Digital Citizens Alliance, following an investigation into illegal Internet Protocol television, IPTV services and illicit streaming devices, it indicated that 50% of these services include Al-Manar, making it available in countries where the channel has been banned due to links with Hezbollah. On October 26, 2020, the Digital Citizens Alliance released a video warning of terrorist content that could include several of these illegal services, including Al-Manar.


Google and Apple applications

On 25 July 2012, Al Manar launched an application through Apple Inc., Apple's iTunes App Store (iOS), app store and Google Play. However, the application was removed from iTunes after four days and Google Play after six. Maha Abouelenein, Head of Communications for the Mena at Google, subsequently stated that "We remove applications that violate our policies, such as apps that are illegal or that promote hate speech" although she added that "We don't comment on individual applications – however, you can check out our policies for more." According to MEMRI, Al Manar TV subsequently blamed "Israeli incitement against Al Manar TV" as the reason Al-Manar mobile apps were removed by Apple and Google. An Al-Manar TV reporter stated that: "Al Manar TV is once again targeted by America and Israel. The removal of the channel's mobile apps from the Google and Apple stores is a new attempt to curb Al-Manar's message of resistance. According to MEMRI, Al Manar TV Director-General Abdallah Qasir stated that the removal of the apps "indicates that Al Manar TV has the ability to cause great harm to Israel, and that Israel is extremely annoyed by Al Manar becoming so widespread and by its great credibility. Israel cannot even bear to see the Al-Manar icon on smartphones." Abd Al-Hadi Mahfouz, president of the Lebanese National Media Council, also supported Al-Manar, arguing that: "This move contradicts all laws pertaining to radio and television, to the exercising of media liberties, and to the right of citizens, Western and Arab alike, to information." Rabi' Al-Ba'lbaki, the head of the Lebanese IT Association reportedly called for a boycott of Apple and Google if they do not restore service for Al-Manar's applications.Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV after Google and Apple Banned Its Apps: We Will Find Other Ways to Deliver "Message of Resistance"
MEMRITV, Clip No. 3517 (transcript), 2 August 2012.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, in a statement issued on 16 August 2012, Al Manar says it is "back on Ipad and Iphone applications via alternative ways, following the campaign carried out by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League to deactivate Al-Manar applications on smart phones at Google Play and apple store". To avoid distributor policies and control, the new applications were downloadable directly from Al-Manar's website, which was hosted by a British server. In March 2014, Al Manar relaunched their application in Apple's iTunes store under the name "LCG."Hezbollah’s Al-Manar news station launches app in Apple’s iTunes store
JNS.org, JNS.org, 14 March 2014.
It launched a new iPhone app in 2016, called "Trust News".


See also

* ''al-Manar (journal), al-Manar'' (for the early 20th century journal of the same name) * Mohammed Hassan Dbouk, accredited al-Manar journalist believed to have misused his credentials in support of
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
militant activities * Television in Lebanon * Al-Ahed News * Al-Manar Football Festival * Al-Nour * Hate media


Notes


Bibliography

* * * *


Further reading

* * * Kelly McEvers
Inside Manar
On the Media, National Public Radio, 26 January 2007 * M. Zuhdi Jasser
Al-Manar: Satellite Propaganda Network
Homeland Security Network. 17 October 2011


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Al Manar Anti-Israeli sentiment in Lebanon Antisemitism in Lebanon Hezbollah propaganda organizations 1991 establishments in Lebanon Television channels and stations established in 1991 Television stations in Lebanon International broadcasters Arab mass media Arabic-language television stations Propaganda television broadcasts Mass media in Beirut Islamic television networks Conservative media