Al-Manar ( ar, المنار, ''al-Manār'', lit=''
The Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower aiding marine navigation.
Light House, Lighthouse, or The Lighthouse may also refer to:
Art and architecture
Actual lighthouses
Buildings called "Light House" or "Lighthouse"
* Light House (Aarhus), a skyscraper under ...
'') is a Lebanese
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
station owned and operated by the political party
Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
,
[Germany bans Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV Channel](_blank)
21 November 2008, Ya Libnan broadcasting from
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
The channel was launched on 4 June 1991 and it is a member of the
Arab States Broadcasting Union.
Al-Manar was designated as a “
Specially Designated Global Terrorist
A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order 1 ...
entity", and banned by the United States on 17 December 2004.
On 22 June 2021, the official Al-Manar website domain as well as dozens of other Arab news network domains related to Iran, Lebanon and Syria were shut down by the U.S. government for spreading disinformation and in cooperation with the U.S. government, Al-Manar is banned from multiple U.S based media platforms which include
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
,
Reddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...
etc.
It has also been banned by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
[Commission of the European Communitie]
Commission document SEC (2006) 160
Retrieved 31 July 2006 and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
and has run into some service and license problems outside Lebanon, making it unavailable in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
[Radio Netherlands Worldwide Blo]
Iranian commentator reacts to Dutch ban on two satellite TV stations
Retrieved 30 July 2006[Radio Netherlands Worldwide Blo]
Two Islamic TV stations banned in the Netherlands
Retrieved 30 July 2006 Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
[ABA News Release NR 135/2004 22 October 200]
ABA investigation into Al Manar programming on TARBS
Retrieved 15 August 2006 while it has not officially been banned in any of these regions.
History
Al-Manar first began terrestrial broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon on 4 June 1991.
In 2000 the station also began broadcasting via satellite.
The station was located in the predominantly
Shi'a
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
neighborhood of
Haret Hreik
Haret Hreik ( ar, حارة حريك) is a mixed Shia and Maronite Christian municipality, in the Dahieh suburbs, south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is part of the Baabda District. Once an agricultural village, Haret Hreik lost its rural identity due to ...
in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the Hezbollah is also headquartered.
Originally, the station employed only a few men that had studied media in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
during the mid-1980s. But almost a year later, Al-Manar was employing over 150 people.
Initially, Al Manar would broadcast only five hours per day. Shortly before the 1992 election, it began broadcasting regular news bulletins in order to help Hezbollah attain more votes and spread its message to more people. In 1993, the station expanded its broadcasting to seven hours a day and extended its signal to the southern part of the
Bekaa Valley. Ahead of the
1996 Lebanese parliamentary elections, additional
antennas were erected in
Northern Lebanon and throughout the
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at .
Geography
The Mount Le ...
range, so that the station could be viewed not only in Lebanon, but also in western
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and northern Israel. Broadcasting was extended to 20 hours in 1998 but reduced to 18 hours in 2000.
In 1996, the Lebanese government granted broadcasting licenses to only five television stations, not including Al-Manar. Approximately 50 stations were forced to close at the time. Several stations appealed the government's decision, but only four of them were finally granted licenses, one of which was Al-Manar. On 18 September, the Lebanese Cabinet decided to grant Al-Manar a license after having been requested to do so by then Syrian
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Hafiz al-Asad
Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 197 ...
. Al-Manar received the license in July 1997.
According to the US Department of Treasury, Al Manar is the media arm of the Hezbollah. The station manager Muhammad Afif Ahmad, said that Al Manar belongs to Hezbollah culturally and politically. By 2004, Al Manar was estimated to hold 10-15 million viewers daily worldwide.
Satellite broadcasting
During the 1990s, the popularity of
satellite broadcasting
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
greatly increased in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
and in Lebanon. The first Lebanese station to use this technology was
Future Television, launching Future International SAT in 1994, while
LBCI
The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International ( ar, المؤسسة اللبنانية للإرسال انترناسيونال), widely known as LBCI, is a private television station in Lebanon. LBCI was founded in 1992 by acquiring the asse ...
and the Lebanese government followed by launching LBCSAT and
Tele Liban Satellite respectively. In order to compete with these emerging stations, and in order to find an international audience, Al-Manar announced its intention to launch a satellite channel on 9 March 2000.
Muhammad Ra'd
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...
, a Hezbollah member of parliament and al-Manar's largest shareholder, submitted the request to the minister of transmission, which was approved in April 2000. Although the launch of the satellite station was originally planned for July, the date was moved up in order to coincide with the end of the
Israeli occupation of South Lebanon
The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon formally began in 1985 and ended in 2000 as part of the South Lebanon conflict. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to a spate of attacks carried out from Lebanese territory by Palestinian mi ...
on 25 May. This success led other television stations to follow in launching satellite stations, including
Murr TV
Murr Television, marketed and known as MTV Lebanon, is a Lebanese television station based in Naccache, Metn District.
History
Founded in 1991 by Gabriel Murr, a Lebanese businessman and politician.
MTV was shut down in 2002 as it was found ...
in November 2000, but it was shut down for "violating an election law prohibiting
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
" – a fate which al-Manar did not meet, although its programming was also considered propaganda by many analysts .
ArabSat, a leading communications satellite operator in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, headquartered in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, was at first wary about collaborating with al-Manar, because of the station's Shi'a agenda – the two companies agreed, however, that the programming would be adapted to the pan-Arab audience, leading to a slight difference between the local broadcast and the one via satellite. At first, only three hours of satellite programming were broadcast per day, but by December 2000, the station was broadcasting around the clock.
Al-Manar was soon carried by many satellite providers. However, starting with the removal of the station from
TARBS World TV
Television And Radio Broadcasting System more commonly known as TARBS World TV was an Australian subscription Television Service, broadcasting predominantly ethnic (and mainly non-English) stations into Australia. TARBS commenced operations in ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 2003, many satellite television providers stopped featuring it. Until then the station was featured by the following providers at one time or another:
*
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
, broadcasting to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
*
New Skies Satellites
SES World Skies was a short lived company formed as a result of the merger between the two SES subsidiaries, ''SES Americom'' and ''SES New Skies''. The company was merged into its parent company, SES S.A. in 2011.
History
SES Americom
SE ...
NSS-803,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and parts of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
*
ArabSat, Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe
*
Hispasat
Hispasat is the operating company for a number of Spanish communications satellites that cover the Americas, Europe and North Africa from orbital positions 30.0° West and 61.0° West. It was formed in 1989 and its activities include provision ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
*
AsiaSat,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
*
Nilesat
Nilesat (; , ''or'' ) is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated mission control center and ground st ...
*
Eutelsat
Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues.
Eutelsat's satellit ...
, Europe, North Africa, and Middle East
*
SES
SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to:
Business and economics
* Socioeconomic status
* Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland
* SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia)
* SES S.A., ...
Astra, Europe
According to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
on 26 July 2006, Al-Manar had three satellite signals:
*
ArabSat 2B at 30.5 degrees east
* Badr 3 at 26 degrees east
*
NileSat
Nilesat (; , ''or'' ) is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated mission control center and ground st ...
102 at 7 degrees west
Al-Manar during 2006 Lebanon War
Israeli Air Force strike
The channel was continuously struck by missiles during Israeli air raids. The
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
attacks on 13 July 2006 led to injury of three employees.
The attack on Al-Manar's facilities shortly followed another strike against the
Rafic Hariri International Airport Rafic may refer to:
*Rafic Charaf (1932–2003), Lebanese painter
*Rafic Hariri (1944–2005), Prime Minister of Lebanon, 1992–1998 and 2000–2004
*Rafic Nahra (born 1959), Lebanese priest of the Catholic Church
*Mayan Rafic (born 1995), Israeli ...
in Beirut earlier that morning. Despite the attack, the station remained on air, broadcasting from undisclosed locations.
The
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
bombed Al-Manar's Beirut complex again on 16 July causing fire in the complex and surrounding buildings. The station's signal disappeared briefly several times, then continued normal programming.
=Illegality of bombing
=
The bombing of media outlets violates
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
when they are not being used for
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
purposes ("it is unlawful to attack facilities that merely shape
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
opinion; neither directly contributes to military operations"), according to
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
.
This incident has been condemned by the
International Federation of Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries.
The IFJ is an associate ...
. The
Israel Association of Journalists
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
withdrew from the federation due to this criticism, claiming that Al-Manar employees "are not journalists, they are terrorists".
The
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
based
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
, has also expressed alarm over the incident as "it (Al-Manar) does not appear based on a monitoring of its broadcasts today to be serving any discernible military function, according to CPJ’s analysis."
Content
Al-Manar's programming consists of 25%
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s and
fillers
In processed animal foods, a filler is an ingredient added to provide dietary fiber, bulk or some other non-nutritive purpose.
Products like corncobs, feathers, soy, cottonseed hulls, peanut hulls, citrus pulp, screening, weeds, straw, and cere ...
, 25% series and
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
s, 25%
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
s, and finally 25% news and family shows. Most of the programming is self-produced, although on occasion, programming from
IRIB
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; fa, صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران, ''Sedā va Sīmā-ye Jomhūri-ye Eslāmi-ye Īrān'', , formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian rev ...
(Iran) is used. The
point-of-view of the programming is strongly
anti-Israel and
anti-US. "Appearing on al-Manar, Hezbollah Secretary General
Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel Def ...
frequently calls for `
Death to America
Death to America ( fa, مرگ بر آمریکا, translit=Marg bar Āmrikā; ) is an anti-American political slogan. It is used in Iran,Arash KaramiKhomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013 Afghanistan, ...
`" and the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
is depicted "as a
ghoul
A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a certa ...
, her gown dripping blood, a knife instead of a torch in her raised hand."
Programs
The news programming includes much footage from the international press, especially the Israeli. Additionally the station subscribes to the following
wire service
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, ...
s:
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
,
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
,
Agence France Presse, and
Deutsche Presse Agentur. It also sources stories from Iranian news agencies such as FARS and IRNA. The station airs eight news bulletins a day in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
in addition to one in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and one in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.
Several talk shows are regularly aired on al-Manar. The best known of these is ''Beit al-ankabut'' (''The Spider's House''); its title alludes to a
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
, Hassan Nasrallah often employs to describe Israel. It is dedicated to uncovering the "weakness of the
Zionist entity
Zionist entity ( ar, الكيان الصهيوني, ), Zionist regime ( fa, رژیم صهیونیستی, ), and Zionist enemy are interchangeable pejorative terms used predominantly by Arabs and Muslims in reference to the Israel, State of Israe ...
", i.e. Israel. It attempts to convince the Arab world that Israel could easily be destroyed, for example, by an increase in the Arab population and the implementation of the Palestinian
right of return
The right of return is a principle in international law which guarantees everyone's right of voluntary return to, or re-entry to, their country of origin or of citizenship. The right of return is part of the broader human rights concept freedom of ...
. Further talk shows include ''Hadith al-sa'a'' (''Talk of the Hour''), ''Matha ba'ad'' (''What's Next?''), ''Ma'al Hadath'' (''With The Event''), ''Bayna Kawsayn'' (''Between The Brackets''), ''Milafat'' (''Files''), ''Al-din wa al-hayat'' (''Religion and Life''), and ''Nun wa al-qalam'' (''The 'Nun' and the Pen''). Guests include well-known journalists, analysts, writers, Lebanese politicians, spokespersons of terrorist groups, and Islamic scholars, who then discuss current religious, political, and cultural, regional and global topics.
Al-Manar often airs music videos and fillers in between full-length programs and during commercial breaks. The music videos are generally dedicated to the following seven purposes: the promotion of the Hezbollah, highlighting the importance of armed resistance against Israel, the glorification of
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
, spreading of
anti-Americanism, denunciation of Israel and Zionism as the embodiments of terrorism, the appeals for the destruction of Israel, and the depiction of the future of Arab youths.
The videos are on average three minutes long. The videos are usually professionally produced by the station itself and each usually takes about three to four days to make.
The filler material usually consists of appeals to donate money to the Hezbollah, lists of
demonstrations
Demonstration may refer to:
* Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting
* Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought
* Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
taking place worldwide, and slogans in English,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, or Arabic.
The station also offers
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
broadcasting - such as the programs ''Goal'' and ''Tis'in daqiqa'' (''Ninety Minutes'') -, family programming - such as ''Al-mustakshifoun al-judud'' (''The New Explorers''), ''Al-Muslimoun fi al-Sin'' (''Muslims in China''), and ''Ayday al-khayr'' (''Hands of Benevolence'') -, game shows - including ''Al-mushahid shahid'' (''The Viewer Is the Witness''), where contestants attempt to guess the names of Israeli political and military figures, and ''Al-muhima'' (''The Mission'') -, and even a children's program called ''Al-manr al-saghir'' (''The Little Manar''), which is in the style of the US show ''
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...
'', targeting three- to seven-year-olds.
Al-Manar also broadcasts
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s,
dubbed into
Modern Standard Arabic
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA), terms used mostly by linguists, is the variety of Standard language, standardized, Literary language, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th ...
.
During
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, al-Manar features special programs, many of which are self-produced. In 2001, ''Izz al-Din al-Qassam: Qisat al-jihad wa al-muqawama'' (''Izz al-Din al-Qassam: A Story of Jihad and Resistance''), a four-part drama based on the life of
Izz al-Din al-Qassam
Izz ad-Din Abd al-Qadar ibn Mustafa ibn Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Qassam (1881 or 19 December 1882 – 20 November 1935) ( ar, عز الدين بن عبد القادر بن مصطفى بن يوسف بن محمد القسام / ALA-LC: ) was a Syria ...
, an early-twentieth-century Arab, after whom the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB are named. It was considered a success among Palestinians. The 2002 program ''Faris bi la jawad'' (''A Knight without a Horse''), which was produced by an
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian, was based on ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
'', an old
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
text claiming a conspiracy of
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
control the world, like many programs of the station. The 29-part series ''
Ash-Shatat ''Ash-Shatat'' ( ar, الشتات, lit=''The Diaspora'') is a 29-part Syrian television series produced in 2003 by a private Syrian film company, Linn, at a cost of $5.1m. Based in part on ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'', the series reflect ...
'' (''The Diaspora''), which was aired in 2003, was also based on ''The Protocols'' and produced in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
; it led to the banning of al-Manar in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Religion
Al-Manar was the first TV station to report Hezbollah's condemnation of the
11 September attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...
. Other non-state attacks against the United States have also been condemned on Al-Manar, including the 2000
USS ''Cole'' bombing suicide attack against a US Navy destroyer.
Al-Manar was once described as one of the channels, among other complex reasons, of the spread of
Shiism
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
in Syria in the years before 2009.
Until the Israeli withdrawal from
South Lebanon
Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distric ...
, Al-Manar's programming political focus was mainly against the Israeli presence in Lebanon. While the withdrawal in May 2000 left a void in the station's programming, Hezbollah and A-Manar consider the
Shebaa Farms
The Shebaa Farms, also spelled Sheba'a Farms ( ar, مزارع شبعا, '; he, חוות שבעא, ''Havot Sheba‘a'' or הר דוב, ''Har Dov''), are a small strip of land at the intersection of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli-oc ...
to be Lebanese territory occupied by Israel, and this became a focal point for political programming. In September of that year, the
al-Aqsa Intifada broke out, and Al-Manar began to cover the issue of the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
more extensively, overtly propagandizing to support the Palestinian militants.
Journalistic standards and neutrality
According to Al Manar's news director, Hassan Fadlallah, Al Manar does not aim to be neutral in its broadcasting, "Neutrality like that of Al Jazeera is out of the question for us," Fadlallah said. "We cover only the victim, not the aggressor.
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
is the Zionist news network, Al Jazeera is neutral, and Al Manar takes the side of the Palestinians...He said Al Manar's opposition to neutrality means that, unlike Al Jazeera, his station would never feature interviews or comments by Israeli officials. "We're not looking to interview Sharon," Fadlallah said. "We want to get close to him in order to kill him."
Accusations and restrictions
Designation as a 'terrorist entity'
Al-Manar was placed on a US terrorist watchlist in December 2004.
Reporters without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
said that no evidence was presented of Al-Manar's involvement with terrorism. The main evidence provided for Al-Manar being anti-semitic was its partial showing, in October–November 2003, of the Syrian-produced 29-part series ''
Ash-Shatat ''Ash-Shatat'' ( ar, الشتات, lit=''The Diaspora'') is a 29-part Syrian television series produced in 2003 by a private Syrian film company, Linn, at a cost of $5.1m. Based in part on ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'', the series reflect ...
'' ("The Diaspora"). Lebanon's
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to the United States,
Farid Abboud, protested: "If you want simply to demonize or eliminate one side, you're not going to advance the issue. If you are going to focus on one side simply because of the political message, it's unacceptable and it's a grave breach of the
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
.".
In March 2006 Al-Manar was designated as a "
Specially Designated Global Terrorist
A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order 1 ...
entity" by the United States, declaring it "owned or controlled by the Iran-funded
Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
terrorist network".
As a result, Al-Manar was made subject to US sanctions.
Allegations of anti-Semitic programming
One of the satellite providers which has transmitted Al-Manar is the French satellite Hot Bird 4, owned by the
Eutelsat
Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues.
Eutelsat's satellit ...
Satellite organisation. On 13 December 2004, the French
Conseil d'État, the highest administrative Court in France, ordered the French-based Eutelsat Company to shut down Al-Manar broadcasts following accusations that its programmes were
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and could incite hatred.
Al-Manar claims the French decision was political and not legal, influenced by Israel and Jewish lobbies.
Banning of broadcasts
Al-Manar's broadcasts have been banned by the US,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
After the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
placed Al-Manar on the
Terrorist Exclusion List
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States Secretary of State, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA), to be involved ...
on 17 December 2004, transmissions to North America via
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
's satellites were blocked.
[Reuters, 18 December 200]
U.S. designates Al-Manar TV as 'terrorist'
Retrieved 1 August 2006 Javed Iqbal, a resident of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
is the first person to charged under this law. Iqbal, 45, a Pakistani who had been living in the U.S. for more than 25 years, was charged by federal prosecutors with
providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by broadcasting Al Manar to U.S. customers, in exchange for thousands of dollars payment. In a 2008 plea bargain, he agreed to serve a prison term of up to years. Saleh Elahwal, who also operates HDTV, was also charged and went on trial 5 January 2009. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says it's constitutional for the government to outlaw businesses with direct operational ties to terrorist organizations, and media outlets that directly incite and direct violent action, but in this case, the government is trying to stop the spread of ideas.
[N.Y. Man Charged with Aiding Hezbollah TV Channel](_blank)
NPR, Weekend Edition 27 August 2006, Liane Hansen, host. Mark Dubowitz
Mark Dubowitz (born 11 September 1968) is a South African-born Canadian-American attorney and former venture capitalist, currently serving as CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-profit think-tank and lobbying institute that adv ...
, who founded the
Coalition Against Terrorist Media to in part stop Al-Manar, said Al-Manar was shouting fire in a crowded theater, although Lieberman disagreed with that metaphor.
The
Dutch Media Authority "discovered that a satellite owned by
New Skies Satellites
SES World Skies was a short lived company formed as a result of the merger between the two SES subsidiaries, ''SES Americom'' and ''SES New Skies''. The company was merged into its parent company, SES S.A. in 2011.
History
SES Americom
SE ...
was carrying Al-Manar and has ordered the company to stop doing so, because the channel did not have the required Dutch licence." Many, including
Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012.
Its services i ...
Worldwide Media Network
consider this to be a ban. The Spanish authorities banned the retransmission of Al-Manar by
Hispasat
Hispasat is the operating company for a number of Spanish communications satellites that cover the Americas, Europe and North Africa from orbital positions 30.0° West and 61.0° West. It was formed in 1989 and its activities include provision ...
on 30 June 2005 (which effectively prevents its reception not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in South America).
The lack of transmission from Intelsat had the effect of making Al-Manar unavailable in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, which some have interpreted as a "ban".
While Al-Manar is not approved for distribution in Canada, there is no record of application for approval having been made.
TARBS World TV
Television And Radio Broadcasting System more commonly known as TARBS World TV was an Australian subscription Television Service, broadcasting predominantly ethnic (and mainly non-English) stations into Australia. TARBS commenced operations in ...
voluntarily stopped broadcasting al-Manar in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
on 5 November 2003, 15 days into an investigation by the ABA regarding accusations of "broadcast programs that are likely to incite or perpetuate hatred against or gratuitously vilify any person or group on the basis of their
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
,
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
, Race (classification of human beings), race or religion". The report for this investigation was never finalised as TARBS had gone into receivership by that time. Al-Manar in August 2009 received approval for broadcast by Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Al-Manar provides a live feed of its programming on the Internet through it
website This effectively circumvents the bans as Al-Manar is still available in all the areas it does not broadcast to via satellite.
Broadcasting via illegal IPTV services and streaming devices
According to a report by the security company Nagravision, NAGRA and the Digital Citizens Alliance, following an investigation into illegal Internet Protocol television, IPTV services and illicit streaming devices, it indicated that 50% of these services include Al-Manar, making it available in countries where the channel has been banned due to links with Hezbollah.
On October 26, 2020, the Digital Citizens Alliance released a video warning of terrorist content that could include several of these illegal services, including Al-Manar.
Google and Apple applications
On 25 July 2012, Al Manar launched an application through Apple Inc., Apple's iTunes App Store (iOS), app store, directing users to various content produced by the Hezbollah television station, including speeches by Hezbollah leader,
Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel Def ...
.
However, the application was subsequently removed from iTunes and Google Play. Maha Abouelenein, Head of Communications for the Mena at Google, subsequently stated that "We remove applications that violate our policies, such as apps that are illegal or that promote hate speech" although she added that "We don’t comment on individual applications – however, you can check out our policies for more."
Al Manar TV subsequently blamed "Israeli incitement against Al Manar TV" as the reason Al-Manar mobile apps were removed by Apple and Google. An Al-Manar TV reporter stated that: "Al Manar TV is once again targeted by America and Israel. The removal of the channel's mobile apps from the Google and Apple stores is a new attempt to curb Al-Manar's message of resistance.
[
Al Manar TV Director-General Abdallah Qasir stated that the removal of the apps "indicates that Al Manar TV has the ability to cause great harm to Israel, and that Israel is extremely annoyed by Al Manar becoming so widespread and by its great credibility. Israel cannot even bear to see the Al-Manar icon on smartphones." Abd Al-Hadi Mahfouz, president of the Lebanese National Media Council, also supported Al-Manar, arguing that: "This move contradicts all laws pertaining to radio and television, to the exercising of media liberties, and to the right of citizens, Western and Arab alike, to information." Rabi' Al-Ba'lbaki, the head of the Lebanese IT Association reportedly called for a boycott of Apple and Google if they do not restore service for Al-Manar's applications.][Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV after Google and Apple Banned Its Apps: We Will Find Other Ways to Deliver "Message of Resistance"]
MEMRITV, Clip No. 3517 (transcript), 2 August 2012.
In a statement issued on 16 August 2012, Al Manar says it is "back on Ipad and Iphone applications via alternative ways, following the campaign carried out by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League to deactivate Al-Manar applications on smart phones at Google Play and apple store". In an effort to avoid distributor policies and control, the new applications are downloadable directly from Al-Manar's website, which is hosted British server.[ The website also provides instructions, along with screen shots, on configuring Android phones to accept applications "not sourced in Android Market" and for installing the application on iPhones.][
In March 2014, Al Manar relaunched their application in Apple's iTunes store under the name "LCG."Hezbollah’s Al-Manar news station launches app in Apple’s iTunes store]
JNS.org, JNS.org, 14 March 2014.
See also
* ''al-Manar (journal), al-Manar'' (for the early 20th century journal of the same name)
* Arab–Israeli conflict
* Mohammed Hassan Dbouk, accredited al-Manar journalist believed to have misused his credentials in support of Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
militant activities
* Television in Lebanon
* Al-Ahed News
* Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
* Al-Manar Football Festival
* Al-Nour
* Hate media
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*Tatham, Steve (2006), 'Losing Arab Hearts & Minds: The Coalition, Al-Jazeera & Muslim Public Opinion' Hurst & Co (London) Published 1 January.
*Kilpert, Daniel. ''Tödliche Sendung'' in ''Jungle World'' 11 January 2006 ISSN 1613-0766
*Jorisch, Avi
Hezbollah Hate with a U.S. Link
' in Los Angeles Times, 13 October 2002.
*International Freedom of Expression Exchange, IFEX.
'Israeli forces strike Al-Manar TV facilities
', 14 July 2006.
* Kelly McEvers
Inside Manar
On the Media, National Public Radio, 26 January 2007
* M. Zuhdi Jasser
Al-Manar: Satellite Propaganda Network
Homeland Security Network. 17 October 2011
External links
Al Manar official website in Arabic
Al Manar official website in English
Al Manar official website in French
Al Manar official website in Spanish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manar, Al-
Hezbollah propaganda organizations
1991 establishments in Lebanon
Television channels and stations established in 1991
Television stations in Lebanon
International broadcasters
Arab mass media
Arabic-language television stations
Propaganda television broadcasts
Mass media in Beirut
Islamic television networks