Mohamed Ali Harrath (born 20 February 1963), is a Tunisian activist, businessman and the founder and CEO of the

Islam Channel Islam Channel is a UK-based, free-to-air, English language, Islamic-focused satellite television channel and online media platform funded by advertising and donations. It was founded in 2004 by Mohamed Ali Harrath (born 1963), a Tunisian act ...

Biography

Adult life

After his release in the mid-1980s, he travelled to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, inspired by the thought of the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

, though he was disappointed by the reality of life there.

Jonathan Steele Jonathan Steele may refer to: *Jonathan Steele (journalist), British journalist and author * Jonathan Steele (comics), the comic book series * Jonny Steele, footballer See also *Jon Steel Jon Steel , full name Jonathan Steel (born 14 March 19 ...

, 'Half a Revolution: Jonathan Steele reports from Tunisia', '' London Review of Books'', Vol. 33. No. 6 (17 March 2011), pp. 36–40 He helped found the Tunisian Islamic Front (FIT) in 1986: though he has characterised the organization as a non-violent political party in opposition to Ben Ali's dictatorship, the Tunisian regime, under Ben Ali, characterized it as advocating "an Islamic state by means of armed revolutionary violence". Richard Kerbaj & Dominic Kennedy,
Sack Mohamed Ali Harrath, Scotland Yard urged
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 16 December 2008 He was forced into exile from Tunisia, and at the Tunisian Government's request was placed on an

Interpol Red Notice An Interpol notice is an international alert circulated by Interpol to communicate information about crimes, criminals, and threats by police in a member state (or an authorised international entity) to their counterparts around the world. The in ...

in 1992.Jonathan Clayton & Dominic Kennedy
Mohamed Ali Harrath, Islamic TV chief, is held over terror claims
''

'', 26 January 2010 He entered

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in October 1995, and claimed political asylum. In October 2000 he was granted refugee status and indefinite leave to stay in the UK. Richard Kerbaj & Dominic Kennedy,
Unanswered questions about a ‘man of peace’ on Interpol list
''

'', 15 December 2008. He founded the

in 2004 and is the current CEO. He also organised the first

Global Peace and Unity The Global Peace and Unity (often abbreviated as GPU) is a recurring two-day event/festival and conference held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in Royal Victoria Dock, London, England and organized by the Islam Channel. It is the largest Muslim, ...

event in 2005, attracting over 50,000 members of the public annually. In 2010, he travelled to Kigali, Rwanda, where he met and awarded President

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

for his services to humanity.Paul Kagame Official Website
President Kagame receives GPU award
9 December 2010. In February 2011 he returned to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

after 21 years of exile, where he was welcomed by many Tunisians at Tunis-Carthage International Airport. Harrath won £140,000 in libel damages after a website owned by Stand For Peace Ltd claimed that Harrath was a convicted terrorist.

References

External links

Interview with Stephen Sackur
on the BBC programme

HARDtalk ''HARDtalk'' is a BBC television and radio programme broadcast on the BBC News Channel, on BBC World News, and on the BBC World Service. Broadcast times and days vary, depending on broadcasting platform and geographic location. ''HARDtalk' ...

, first broadcast 25 March 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrath, Mohamed Ali Living people 1963 births Tunisian Muslims Tunisian activists 21st-century Tunisian businesspeople Tunisian Islamists Television executives Alumni of the University of London People from Sidi Bouzid Governorate