Coalition Against Terrorist Media Calls on Egypt, Saudi Arabia to Stop Broadcasting Terrorist Televi

Washington, Feb 28, 2007

Following Egypt’s decision to pull an Iraqi television station accused of supporting terrorism from its NileSat satellite system, the Coalition Against Terrorist Media – a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies – today called on Egyptian and Saudi officials to remove two other stations used to support terrorism, Hezbollah’s al-Manar and Hamas’s al-Aqsa, from their state-controlled satellite networks.

“Removing the vile al-Zawraa broadcasts which incite violence against innocent Iraqis and those trying to build a peaceful democracy was a good first step by Egypt,” said Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the coalition and chief operating officer of FDD. “But Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two of our supposed allies in the war on terrorism, must also pull Hezbollah’s and Hamas’s equally dangerous programming, roll back the Iranian regime’s propaganda efforts and disavow all terrorist controlled media outlets that use their satellites to recruit followers and incite violent attacks.”

The Coalition Against Terrorist Media was formed in 2004 by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies to fight the proliferation of terrorist owned and operated media outlets. The coalition has removed Hezbollah’s al-Manar station from 8 of 10 satellites that have carried it, successfully encouraged the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury to designate it as a terrorist organization, and prevented more than $2 million in annual ad revenue from reaching its coffers. It has also succeeded in having Hezbollah’s al-Nour radio designated as a terrorist organization and removing it from several satellites. Members of the coalition have briefed hundreds of officials in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on the stations’ support for terrorism and appeared in international media to expose the danger of terrorist media.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas use their television stations and media properties to spread hatred, raise money, recruit followers, and provide logistical support for terrorist operations. Egyptian-controlled NileSat and Saudi-controlled Arabsat broadcast al-Manar and al-Aqsa throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. Arabsat continues to broadcast al-Zaawra. Egypt announced on February 26 that it had removed al-Zaawra from NileSat. For a list of stations carried by NileSat, click here. For those carried by Arabsat, click here.

For more information on Hezbollah’s al-Manar, Hamas’s al-Aqsa, and other terrorist media outlets, please visit. www.stopterroristmedia.org.

The Coalition Against Terrorist Media brings together Muslim, Christian, Jewish and secular groups to fight against the proliferation of terrorist media outlets. It is a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism. Founded shortly after the attacks of 9/11, FDD combines policy research, democracy and counterterrorism education, strategic communications, and investigative journalism in support of its mission. For more information, please visit www.defenddemocracy.org.

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