Akram Khuzam ( ar, أكرم خزام) was the
Al Jazeera Channel's former
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
Bureau chief. He served as the Bureau Chief in Moscow for 9 years until he was replaced in a storm of controversy by Amro Abdel-Hamid in late September 2005.
[دماء جديدة في (الجزيرة)]
''Akhbaruna'', September 20, 2005 - an Arab language Russian news site that addresses human rights issues.
Khuzam was known for ending his reports by saying "...Akram Khuzam, Aljazeera, Moscooowww."
'' Angry Arab News Service'', September 21, 2005 - a blog site
Anti-Muslim statements
Akram Khuzam angered the
Muslim community in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
in 2004 by making
anti-Muslim
Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism.
The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
statements. He declared to a Russian TV channel that Islam promotes terrorism and that the Qur'an incite violence, and he said that three of the Muslim
Caliphs
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
were killed in internal terrorist conflicts. Mr. Geidar Dzhemal, the head of the Islamic Committee of Russia, asked Al Jazeera to fire Mr. Khuzam.
[Aljazeera Moscow Chief Fired]
, ''Kommersant
''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...
'', September 20, 2005
Al Jazeera stated that the replacement of Akram Khuzam in September 2005 was not related to the complaints raised by the Islamic Committee and was unrelated to Mr Khuzam's statements.
Replacement as Moscow Bureau Chief
On the 20 September 2005 the news broke that Akram Khuzam was being replaced as the AlJazeera Moscow Bureau Chief. Initial reports incorrectly indicated that Mr. Khuzam had been fired but the Arabic site Akhbaruna confirmed that Mr. Khuzam had just been moved into a different role.
[
It emerged that Al Jazeera had been concerned about the way the former Soviet bloc was being covered and wanted to invigorate its coverage by recruiting the widely acclaimed Russian Arab journalist Amro Abdel-Hamid to replace Akram Khuzam. Mr. Abdel-Hamid was formerly the head of the Al-Arabiya office in Moscow before joining Al Jazeera.
]
References
External links
Akram Khuzam and Al Jazeera - the inside story
Akram Khuzam gets replaced by former Al-Arabiya correspondent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khuzam, Akram
Television journalists
Living people
Al Jazeera people
Year of birth missing (living people)