Saudi Al Arabiya TV chief resigns: report

The manager of the Saudi satellite TV station Al Arabiya has resigned, a few days after reports said he was stopped from writing articles in the London-based Arabic language newspaper Alsharqalawsat.

According to a Saudi newspaper, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid resigned from his post at the Dubai-based Al Arabiya news channel on Tuesday.

“Some staff members in Al Arabiya confirmed Rashid’s resignation but there was no immediate reason for the move,” Kabar daily said.

“His reported resignation has triggered reactions at Al Arabiya inside Saudi Arabia….it was not clear whether he has resigned or has been sacked…the resignation followed the broadcast of a controversial programme on Al Arabiya titled ‘Islam and the West’, which included a series offence against the Saudi Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab.”

Rashed took over as manager of Al Arabiya a few years ago with more than 20 years media experience behind him.

Before joining Al Arabiya, Rashed was the editor-in-chief for the pan-Arab Alsharqalawsat newspaper for five years and was known for his daily columns that frequently sparked debate in the Arab world.

Rashid also worked at al-Majalla magazine for ten years and served as the foreign correspondent for Al Jazeera in Washington until 1985.

He earned a bachelors degree in visual media from the American University in Washington and was involved in many academic research projects and documentary production.

Press reports said last week that he had stopped writing articles in Alsharqalawsat but there was no confirmation by the paper. Some of his articles had drawn sharp criticism from Islamic groups in the Middle East.
 

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