Media & Religion programme: Second seminar in Egypt

A second Media & Religion seminar was held in Cairo, Egypt over the period 19-25 March 2011. It gathered together the Egyptian, Sudanese and Swiss journalists who were invited to the previous seminar in Switzerland. They met religious and media actors, as well as various leading politico-religious figures who played a key role during the Egyptian revolution. These visits were supplemented by an analysis by Egyptian intellectuals and activists of the religious dimension and its place in the post-revolution context.

The seminar was an opportunity to discover the main Islamic and Islamist currents in contemporary Egypt – notably the Salafists and Muslim Brothers – and to understand the trends affecting them. It also allowed the participants to visit unmissable places like Al-Azhar University and to tackle the Coptic issue in Egypt. During this week of presentations, there was also a talk on the media’s coverage of religions by staff of various editorial offices like the important website of information about Islam, OnIslam.net, or the Salafist TV channel Al-Rahma.
 
Currently, the next phase of the Media & Religion programme is being discussed. More information will be available this summer.