Amr Mohamed Helmi Khaled

Amr Mohamed Helmi Khaled^[1] (Arabic: عمرو محمد حلمي خالد‎) (born September 5, 1967) is an Egyptian Muslim televangelist, activist and preacher. The New York Times Magazine, in reference to Khaled's popularity in Arab countries,
described him in its April 30, 2006 issue as "the world's most famous
and influential Muslim television preacher." Amr Khaled has recently
been chosen as number 13 of the world's most influential people by Time Magazine^[2] and sixth most influential intellectual in the world by Prospect magazine^[3].

Contents [hide] 1 Early days 2 Ministry and audience 3 Shows 4 Critics 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

Early days

Amr Khaled was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He graduated from Cairo University in 1988 with a degree in Accounting. In 2001, he received a diploma from an Islamic Studies Institute. He is currently studying for his Ph.D at the University of Wales.^[4]


He began preaching in mosques in 1990 while still working as an accountant. In 1998, he moved to full-time preaching, primarily on satellite television. Khaled's popular lectures, which can be seen on the IQRA channel via the NILESAT direct broadcast satellites, are also distributed over the Internet and on audio and video cassette tapes.

Ministry and audience


Amr Khaled rejects extremism and strongly denounces the actions of Osama bin Laden. He announced that Arab Muslims
want to live peacefully in coexistence with the West. His main
teachings remain the same as those before him in more modern media,
talking about everyday actions to get closer to Allah such as honesty,
humbleness, and being polite. He believes that for society to improve
it must change from the grassroots (from the bottom up).

Khaled promotes community development in the Arabic and Muslim nation
based on what he terms "Faith Based Development" (Arabic: التنمية
بالإيمان). The idea is for people to develop their communities and
countries with faith as their motivator and guide.

Khaled's primary audience consists of Arabs ages fifteen through thirty five who come from the upper middle class.^[5]
Khaled believes these are the ones most capable of changing the Islamic
world. He is noted for his understandable everyday language and his
friendly approach, even joking at times during his lectures.

Shows

Call for Coexistence (Arabic: دعوة للتعايش) is a TV program 2007, presented by Amr Khaled.

Life Makers (Arabic: صناع الحياة) was a TV program aired from
2004 to 2005, presented by Amr Khaled, and is the main concept of his
life. In this program the focus shifts from purely religious talk to
action projects. The stated goal of the program is to produce a
renaissance for the Arab and Muslim world. Projects in agriculture,
education, small industries, healthcare, and other fields have been
started and they are in progress.

On the Path of the Beloved (Arabic: على خطى الحبيب) was Amr Khaled's show for Ramadan 2005 in which he recounted and discussed the life journey (Sira) of the prophet Muhammad. This show focused on Muhammad's personal side and how he dealt with difficult situations in his life.

In Thy Name We Live (Arabic:باسمك نحيا) was Amr Khaled's show for Ramadan 2006, aired live at 7:30 GMT every night from Makkah. The main concept of this show was strengthening viewers' faith through the meanings of the Names of God in the Qur'an.


Qur'an Stories(Arabic:قصص القرآن) this is Amr Khaled’s recent show
for Ramadan 2008, In which he focused on the moral lessons not only of
prophets but normal people as well. The main idea of this program is to
full the viewers with enthusiasm to be more active and affect their
society positivley.

Critics

Some detractors criticise Amr Khaled for not being a specialist in Islamic legal science, and therefore not qualified to preach.^{[citation needed]} His reply is that he is only a preacher who does not issue answers on matters of jurisprudence (fiqh).^{[citation needed]}

Traditionalists from Al Azhar are uncomfortable with his rising popularity.^{[citation needed]}
The Egyptian authorities, apparently alarmed that people who are
learning from him are multiplying in numbers among the ranks of
influential and wealthy families, are believed to have forced him into
exile abroad.^{[citation needed]}
However, he has always replied to inquiries from his viewers on the TV
that he was not banned from airing in Egypt or in other Arab countries
until he came back to Egypt recently.^{[citation needed]} He then announced in "Mahmoud Saad's" Talk show Al-Youm Al Sabea
that the Egyptian authorities told him that if he would like to stay in
Egypt he had to stop any public appearance, which he could not accept.^{[citation needed]} Thus he started his Beirut-London four years journey.

The British Sunday Times reported on May 30, 2004 that Sir Andrew Turnbull, the cabinet secretary and one of Tony Blair’s
closest aides, intended to seek Amr Khaled's aid in furthering the
British government’s agenda regarding Muslims. This article hurt
Khaled's reputation among those Muslims who are resentful of the
attitude of current western governments towards them.^[6]
Jump to: navigation, searchAmr Khaledعامر خالدBornNationalityOccupationReligious beliefs

September 5, 1967 (1967-09-05) (age 42) Alexandria, Egypt

Egyptian

Islamic activist/preacher Accountant

Islam