Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA), a globally-broadcasting,

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...

and a division of Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah, was established in 1994 and launched the world's first Islamic TV channel to broadcast globally. It serves as the official media outlet for the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

, based in

Islamabad, Tilford Islamabad, in the village of Tilford, Surrey, England, is an estate which serves as the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Islamabad is 10.4 hectares in area, where four hectares are used for headquarter buildings, offices and resid ...

and funded entirely from donations by the members of the community. The network operates ten 24-hour channels for different regions of the world, including terrestrial TV as well as satellite television.

History

The idea of a medium for the live broadcasting of media in the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

community takes its root in March 1989 when the community in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, followed by the community in Germany would dial the Fazl Mosque in London to listen to the

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

's Friday sermon over a telephone call. The sermon would be listened on loudspeakers of the mosques in the respective countries. This encouraged the communities of other countries to also dial in every Friday, overwhelming phone lines.

Initial Launch

This led to the inception of ''Ahmadiyya Muslim Presentation (AMP)'' in August 1992 which would broadcast the weekly Friday sermons, and in 1993, the first

Jalsa Salana Jalsa Salana () is a formal, annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was initiated in 1891 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the community, in Qadian, India. Usually, the gathering spans three days, beginning with the flag ...

to be broadcast live. This became the first TV channel run by the

Ahmadiyya Muslim community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

as well as the first TV channel to broadcast Islamic programmes globally. Initially, the studio and video library shared a room in the Mahmood Hall of Fazl Mosque equipped with a single video camera and "few ordinary flood lights". The programming for AMP gradually increased until 7 January 1994, when AMP was rebranded to MTA and increased its daily broadcasting hours from four to 12 hours, and in April 1996, to 24 hours. In 2005, MTA began it's live online broadcast and recorded the

High-definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines ( ...

MTA 3 Al-Arabiya

On 23 March 2007. MTA 3 Al-Arabiya was launched, which was an entirely Arabic channel, primarily for viewers of the Middle East.

MTA Africa

On 1 August 2016,

MTA Africa 1 Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA), a globally-broadcasting, nonprofit satellite television network and a division of Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah, was established in 1994 and launched the world's first Islamic TV channel to broadcast gl ...

and 2 were inaugurated by

Mirza Masroor Ahmad Mirza Masroor Ahmad (; born 15 September 1950) is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Ahmadiyya Caliphate, Fifth Caliph of the Messiah (, ''khalīfatul masīh al- ...

, broadcasting programmes in African languages as well as programmes from MTA 1. In September 2024, MTA Africa became a member of the

African Union of Broadcasting The African Union of Broadcasting (AUB, , , ) is a professional body composed of the national radio and television organizations of African states. The organization works to develop the African broadcast industry by encouraging the exchange of ind ...

after having applied in 2022.

2020 era

From 27 May 2020, known as Khilafat Day for Ahmadis, MTA rearranged its channels according to regions and introduced new channels. These new channels were formerly

MTA1 Metastasis-associated protein MTA1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MTA1'' gene. MTA1 is the founding member of the MTA family of genes. MTA1 is primarily localized in the nucleus but also found to be distributed in the extra-nuc ...

broadcasting on different satellites, converted to cater viewers of specific regions by broadcasting programmes in specific languages for each region. MTA 1 on

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 ...

became MTA8 HD AMERICA with programmes in Urdu, English, French and Spanish.

Channels

MTA runs 10 channels 24/7:

Worldwide

* MTA1 World was the first channel launched by the MTA network and is the primary channel broadcasting programmes in English, Urdu and occasionally archived programmes in Arabic and French, and has multiple audio tracks to provide translations for certain programmes such as the

Friday Sermon Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

. Its broadcast coverage used to cover the entire globe before MTA1 on some satellites were converted into regional channels. It is mainly broadcast in the UK/Europe and parts of South America, as well as being broadcast on terrestrial TV in

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

Europe and MENA

MTA2 Europe Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA), a globally-broadcasting, nonprofit satellite television network and a division of Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah, was established in 1994 and launched the world's first Islamic TV channel to broadcast gl ...

focuses on programmes aimed specifically at European and Middle Eastern viewers by broadcasting programmes in a range of European languages, commonly French and German, in addition to English and Urdu, some of which are also broadcast on

. It was launched in April 2004. MTA2, too, also has similar audio tracks for translations, similar to MTA1, where the Bengali Track is sometimes switched with Spanish. It began it's HD broadcast on 1 February 2018, on the HotBird 13C and is streamed online. * MTA3 Al-Arabia is an all-Arabic channel launched in 23 March 2007 specifically for Arabic viewers in the Middle East and North Africa. It is also broadcast in other parts of the world such as Europe, Indonesia and North America (where it is broadcast in HD). Initially, it was broadcast on the Egyptian-owned

Nilesat 201 Nilesat 201, is an Egyptian communications satellite, which was launched on 4 August 2010. Nilesat 201 will enable the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat to deliver digital Direct to Home (DTH) TV and radio broadcasting and high-speed data trans ...

before being barred and eventually being broadcast on the European

Eutelsat 7 West A 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 Eu ...

instead, in 2008.

Africa

MTA Africa-based content is typically produced in the various African studios, such as the Wahab Adam Studios, based in Ghana. There are 4 African channels as part of the MTA International network: *MTA4 Africa (formerly known as MTA Africa 1) is the fourth satellite-based television channel of the MTA International network. It was launched in early August 2016, broadcasting specifically for viewers of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. The channel is broadcast on the

Astra 2F Astra 2F is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES S.A., launched in September 2012 to the Astra 28.2°E orbital position. The satellite provides free-to-air and encrypted direct-to-home (DTH) digital televisio ...

, and is also broadcast on terrestrial TV in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. Programmes aired are usually in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

language. * MTA5 Africa is a sister channel to MTA4, launched alongside it, and is primarily for the viewers of West Africa and airs programmes in a number of African languages, notably

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

, Krio,

Twi Twi (; ) is the common name of the Akan literary language of Asante and Akuapem. Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, but more of a common name used by inland Akans as ...

and Yoruba. It is the former MTA Africa 2 channel. *

MTA Ghana MTA Ghana is a 24-hour Islamic TV channel that was launched by the MTA International network, the first country-exclusive channel by the network, and based in Accra, Ghana. It is broadcast on the terrestrial platform and airs content in a numbe ...

is a terrestrial channel and the first country-exclusive channel part of the MTA network which aims to air programmes specifically for Ghanaian viewers. It was launched in January 2021 and broadcasts programmes in English and local languages, like

and

. * MTA Gambia is a terrestrial channel under the MTA International Africa division which broadcasts in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. The channel substantially broadcasts programmes in

and

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...

languages.

Asia

* MTA6 Asia broadcasts programs which are specific to Pakistan (and by extension South Asia) and Indonesia. It airs programmes in Urdu, English and Indonesian, with some programs carrying additional translations in other languages, like Bengali. * MTA7 Asia primarily caters to the viewers of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, as it airs programs specific to the region. The channel also provides translations and content in local languages such as Bengali, Malayalam and Tamil.

Americas

* MTA8 America is broadcast in North America, with content in English and Urdu as well as French and Spanish. In the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, MTA also runs MTA 8 + 3, which broadcasts MTA programmes with a delay of three hours. This began in February 2008, primarily for the viewers in the West coast.

Members

The majority of its workers are volunteers with just a small percentage of paid full-time staff. Out of the 300 staff members that work in MTA's London offices, 90% are volunteers who dedicate their time to assist in the running of the network.

Online Media Services

MTA has introduced a number of apps for the benefit of their viewers across a variety of platforms on all devices such as TV, Phone, Tablets, Desktops etc. The network also makes use of social media to live stream their channels on websites such as

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

as well as

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

to broadcast all four channels, live. In addition, as MTA International operates globally and in many different countries, many countries (where Ahmadiyya may have a significant or even minor presence) have their own official MTA YouTube channel for their specific region or language, which allows them to stream regional events that may not be broadcast on MTA but may be streamed on YouTube such as

Canada was streamed on the YouTube channe
MTA Canada
as well as this, it allows specific countries to stream live translations for key programmes such as the

. There are also applications for mobile and personal devices on a variety of platform such as

Roku TV Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U. ...

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...

and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

. On 2 August (at Jalsa Salana UK 2019), a range of MTA applications were launched for Smart TV brands such as Samsung,

Android TV Android TV is an operating system that runs on smart TVs and related entertainment devices including soundbars, set-top boxes, and digital media players. Developed by Google, it is a closed-source Android distribution. Android TV features a u ...

Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (formerly stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon since November 2014. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed v ...

, Panasonic, LG, Sony and Philips.

National Studios

In most countries throughout the world in which there is a presence of the

there is often a national MTA Studio. To date, 19 studios have been established in various countries which produce content in local languages, such as the studios 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 ...

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Kababir Kababir (; ) is a mixed neighbourhood with a majority of Ahmadi Muslim Arabs and a significant minority of Jews in Haifa, Israel. History The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in the 19th century, originating in India and settled in Kaba ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, among others.

United Kingdom

The first headquarter and studio was established in The London Mosque when it was launched, which then relocated to the Baitul Futuh Mosque complex with two large studios and currently stands as the primary headquarters of the MTA International Network, in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. Following the relocation of the Ahmadiyya headquarters to

, a studio was also established there in September 2021 and consequently became the third studio in the UK.

United States

The history of MTA International Studios USA goes back to October 1994 with the establishment of a

base station Base station (or base radio station, BS) is – according to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – a " land station in the land mobile service." A base station is called '' node B'' in 3G, '' eNB'' in L ...

located at the Baitur Rehman Mosque in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

which broadcast programmes to various countries in the

. The

earth station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

in USA is known as "''MTA Teleport''", which was renamed to ''"Masroor Teleport",'' following the inauguration of the renovation of the MTA USA Studios in October 2018.

Photos

File:MTA-logo.gif, MTA International Second Logo File:MTA International German Studios.png, MTA International German Studios Logo File:MTA USA - Circle Logo.jpg, MTA International USA Studios File:MTA CANADA- Circle Logo.jpg, MTA International Canada Studios Logo File:MTA_International_Canada_Studios_-_Set_Design.png, MTA International Canada Studios - Set Design File:MTA International dish.jpg, MTA International broadcast truck at Jalsa Salana Canada 2016

References

* Khan, M. (2003). Muslim Television Ahmadiyya. Retrieved 28 March 2014, from http://www.alislam.org/library/periodicals/tariq-uk/chapter6.pdf {{Authority control Islamic television networks Islam in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 1994