European-Islamic media forum calls for clampdown on hate speech in Western press

European-Islamic media forum calls for clampdown on hate speech in Western press
Maha Mustafa Akeel, the information department director of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, speaks at the first Islamic-European forum in Brussels. SPA
Updated 30 June 2018

European-Islamic media forum calls for clampdown on hate speech in Western press

European-Islamic media forum calls for clampdown on hate speech in Western press
  • The OIC is in the process of establishing a global press award for journalists who contribute to the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue and tolerance
  • The OIC has adopted many resolutions that call for clear and tangible measures to address Islamophobia and counter-terrorism resulting from it

JEDDAH: The first Islamic-European forum for examining ways of cooperation to curb hate speech in the media began on Friday at the Press Club Brussels Europe, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

During the opening session, the head of the Council of Journalists Union in Brussels, Peter Knappen, spoke about the importance of press freedom and stressed that it should be used responsibly and follow ethical and professional values.
Director of the information department of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Maha Mustafa Aqeel explained that the forum is part of the OIC’s media strategy to counter Islamophobia.
“Our strategy focuses on interacting with the media, academics, and experts on various relevant topics, in addition to engaging with western governments to raise awareness, support the efforts of Muslim civil society bodies in the West, and engage the latter in developing plans and programs to counter Islamophobia,” she said.
Aqeel said that, since 2005, the OIC has adopted many resolutions that call for clear and tangible measures to address Islamophobia and counter-terrorism resulting from it. These efforts have included establishing the Islamophobia Observatory, which issues an annual report on countering Islamophobia.
She also pointed out that the OIC has made efforts to engage the media, western governments, civil society and regional and international organizations such as the European Union and UNESCO in order to fight Islamophobia.
Aqeel explained that the OIC established a ministerial Contact Group of European Muslims in 2016 to communicate more closely and regularly with officials and communities in Europe, in addition to establishing a correspondence center to respond to the arguments and fatwas of extremist groups.
“The OIC is in the process of establishing a global press award for journalists who contribute to the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue and tolerance,” she added.
Aqeel said that the two-day forum would explore ways to establish cooperation between media professionals from OIC member states and the European Union to help curb hate speech, stereotyping and fake news, “all of which negatively impact society and provoke intolerance.”
The forum’s sessions discussed press freedom from legal and religious perspectives, and introduced attendees to the contents of the OIC Media Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and ISESCO’s Program for Training Media Professionals on Redressing Stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.


Abdulrahman Al-Soliman, award-winning Saudi artist and writer

Updated 12 December 2020

Abdulrahman Al-Soliman, award-winning Saudi artist and writer

Abdulrahman Al-Soliman, award-winning Saudi artist and writer

Abdulrahman Al-Soliman is a Saudi artist and writer who has won major local and international awards in an artistic career spanning five decades.

Al-Soliman has participated in many Saudi exhibitions outside the Kingdom, as well as Arab and international biennials.

His work has been shown in countries around the world, and he has held personal exhibitions in Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Tangier, Cairo, Kuwait, Paris and Doha.

He served as head of the department of fine arts at the Society of Culture and Arts in Dammam from 1987 to 2000. Before that he was head of the media department and director of activities.

Over the course of his career, his writing has been featured in publications such as Asharq Al-Awsat, the Emirati newspaper Al Bayan and Independent Arabia.

He has also previously served as editor of the fine arts section for the Al-Youm newspaper in Dammam.

Al-Soliman has written several books on the arts in Saudi Arabia, including “The Journey of the Saudi Fine Arts Movement” (2000), considered the first book on Saudi fine arts.

He has also published an autobiography, “Abdulrahman Al-Soliman: The Color of Space and the Scent of Memory.”

Al-Soliman was the first president of the board of the Saudi Society for Fine Arts, where he served from 2007 to 2012. He is a founding member of the Friends of Fine Art society in the GCC.

He was awarded first prize given in exhibitions of contemporary Saudi art in 1985, 1988 and 1989, and also received third prize for a painting in the Sharjah International Biennial of Arts, 1997.

Al-Soliman has been honored by the Misk Art Institute in Riyadh as a pioneer of the fine art movement in the Kingdom.

His work has been sold at international auctions such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and acquired by museums, and international public and private collections.