The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Fouad Bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy undertook an inspection tour of his Ministry's departments working in Arafat to reassure himself of their performance and the coverage of pilgrims' standing in Arafat.
Dr. Al-Farsy began his tour by inspecting the TV and Radio tower which broadcasts the standing in Arafat, performance of Dhohor and Assr prayers and the preparations for moving from Arafat to Muzdalifa. Then, Dr. Al-Farsy visited the information center which has been established to serve reporters representing the International, Muslim and Arab media. He also visited Saudi Press Agency (SPA)'s office in Arafat where he was briefed on its journalistic work during Hajj. The minister checked Hajj's news and the activities covered by SPA and published in its site on the internet (www.spa.gov.sa).
He checked Radio's studio and television technical equipment to broadcast pilgrim's standing in Arafat through TV out-units. During the tour, Al-Farsy was accompanied by Director-General of SPA Dr. Aiyed Alraddadi; Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information for Foreign Information Dr. Saleh Alnamlah; Assistant Undersecretary for television Affairs Tareq Bin Ahmed Riri; Assistant Undersecretary in Makkah region Adnan Falodah; and Assistant Undersecretary for Planning Affairs Helal Alhelal.
Source: SPA
Speech by Minister of Culture and Information
Arafat, Saudi Arabia, 31st January 2004
The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy said that the Kingdom is honored by Almighty God to host the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah, noting that the Kingdom has a great responsibility towards more than a billion Muslims of whom nearly two millions come every year to perform Hajj.
In a statement to media representatives in Arafat here today, Dr. Al-Farsy welcomed all respected television or broadcasting channels from any country to cover Hajj, noting that the government has been pursuing the policy of transparency and no black-out of information coverage for years.
He cited the national dialogue under the patronage of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, which had been designed to ensure more transparency and greater frankness.
He noted that the image of Muslims has been undermined since the events of September 11, as a result of the U.S. media coverage, not owing to Muslims themselves. He pointed out that if 30 or 40 individuals have committed terrorist actions, that does not mean that millions of Muslims are terrorists. On the contrary, he said, Islam derived its name from peace. It is the religion of peace, tolerance and respect for all other religions. He hoped that U.S. media be truthful, objective and credible, not as it is now, adding the western media were trying to strip Islam of its characteristics and justice.
The Minister of Culture and Information added that the terrorist actions happening in the Kingdom have been similarly taking place elsewhere in the world, in Europe, in America, and in other Arab countries. He pointed out that terrorism has no certain religion or nationality. It exists everywhere.
Dr. Al-Farsy warned against making generalization that Saudi Arabia is unstable as a result of attacks in the Kingdom staged by a handful of individuals against peaceful citizens. He said that the number of pilgrims coming from abroad reached nearly 1,450,000 and the total number of pilgrims from the Kingdom and abroad was nearly 2 millions.
Dr. Al-Farsy said that the Kingdom’s doors have been open to the western media for years. We have received 800 persons from major information networks until last year. We welcome anyone who wants to come and find facts since we are proud of what we have achieved and have nothing to conceal. It is better that media representatives come and directly dispatch their news instead of taking them from other sources that might give wrong views about the Kingdom. He noted that the western media unjustly deals with Muslims and Islam in portraying them in a distorted way.
Source: SPA
