Minister of Culture and Information Abdulaziz Khoja during an annual meeting with world media delegations in Jeddah.

Minister of Culture and Information Abdulaziz bin Mohiuddin Khoja thanked the international media for giving maximum coverage to Haj.

He was speaking at an annual meeting with world media delegations currently in the Kingdom to cover Haj 2014.

The annual meeting was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information to honor the media personalities from all over the world who had participated in the largest congregation of the world to give maximum coverage.

Praising media, he said through their coverage, “the world saw what an Islamic state is like, blessed as it is with people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. People also saw that Islam is a religion of peace and tranquility, coexistence and common understanding. Haj shows Muslims of different races and cultures living in harmony during their stay in the Kingdom, united in the common purpose of the pilgrimage and how the Islamic culture unites the nation and the world.”

“We are at a critical and sensitive stage in the fight against terrorism and are all desperately striving to eradicate this global epidemic from the roots,” he observed. He said the pilgrims performed their Haj rituals very smoothly in an atmosphere of spirituality.

“The Kingdom is proud and honored to serve the guests of Allah and looks forward each year to provide the best and finest of services to them,” he said.

Stressing the role of media in educating people, the minister said: “It’s part of the social responsibility of journalists to use the right words and portray the true image to the public,” he said.

The media delegations from Asian countries included Radetyo Yakacksono, a correspondent from Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV), Indonesia, representing Asia; Fitim Zekthi from Albania, representing Europe; Alaya bin Ahmed Alani Aliya bin Ahmed Alaai, member of the Arts and Humanities faculty at the University of Manouba in Tunisia, representing the Gulf region; Mohammad Abdul Rasoul, broadcaster and editor-in-chief of the department of the Arab channel Chad, representing Africa; and Saleh Hamad Saif Al-Zkouani, editor-in-chief of Oman TV, representing the Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States. Khaldoun Al-Azhari, editor of Pan Orient News Agency in Japan spoke on behalf of all the media delegations.

They lauded the facilities, arrangements of safety and security provided to the pilgrims by the government during Haj and thanked the Ministry of Culture and Information for its hospitality and support to make their job easy.

The ceremony was also attended by the chief of radio and television, Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Hazza, Abdulaziz bin Saleh bin Salamah, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information for local and international media, Walid Bafakih, general manager of the Ministry of Culture and Information in the Makkah branch, Saud Ali bin Sheakhi, the director general of the Makkah branch of Ministry of Culture and Information and a number of officials, journalists, writer, editors, ambassadors and consuls of Islamic countries including the world’s media delegations.

 
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