JEDDAH: The 92nd session of the Arab Media Standing Committee and the 10th session of the Arab Information Ministers’ Council Executive Office will be held in Riyadh from Jan. 7-9, the Arab League’s Secretariat General announced on Sunday.
The sessions will be organized in partnership with the Saudi Media Ministry as part of celebrating Riyadh as the Arab Media Capital for 2018-2019, the Secretariat General said.
It added that its delegation will be headed by Badr Al-Din Alali, secretary-general of the Arab League’s Social Affairs Sector.
Among the issues that the meetings will discuss are the Palestinian cause, Arab media strategies, and the Arab League’s participation in the 50th Cairo International Book Fair this year, he said.
The Executive Office is chaired by Saudi Arabia. Its members include Jordan, the UAE, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Egypt, and the Arab League’s Secretariat General, whose delegation includes Fawzi Al-Ghwail, director of the Technical Department of the Council of Arab Information Ministers.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia affirmed the importance of media strategies to combat extremism.
Riyadh hosts pan-Arab media meetings
Riyadh hosts pan-Arab media meetings
- Saudi Arabia affirmed the importance of media strategies to combat extremism
‘Cake not hate’ campaign becomes ‘Dates not hate’ in Madinah
- Dan said he was very impressed by Saudi hospitality and that his family was warmly welcomed
- He said being in Madinah exposed him to the true diversity of Islam
LONDON: A British autistic and non-verbal boy who has been visiting UK mosques and distributing cakes to promote solidarity amid an increase in far-right support in the country has taken his message of love to Madinah.
Joshua Harris, or “The Joshie-Man” as the 12-year-old is known to his social media fans, has handed out hundreds of his baked goods to worshipers at mosques in major British cities over the last few months.
The “Cake not hate” campaign came about after an Islamophobic attack on a mosque in his home city of Peterborough in October 2025.
Harris and his father visited Masjid Darassalaam, the mosque that was targeted, with cakes that the boy had baked and distributed them to the congregation soon after the attack. Since then, Harris has visited dozens of mosques in the UK.
On a recent trip to the Middle East, he and his father visited Madinah. In a local twist that pays tribute to the holy city’s famous date varieties including ajwa and ambar, Harris handed out dates to people in the courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque. The “Cake not hate” campaign became “Dates not hate” for Saudi Arabia.
“He was greeted really, really warmly. There were some really touching moments where people were kissing his hands and his head. It was really lovely,” his father, Dan Harris, said.
Dan, the founder of global charity Neurodiversity in Business, said being in Madinah exposed him to the true diversity of Islam.
“We met people from all around the world. It was amazing. It’s like the United Nations there, you get people from different countries and it just goes to show you that the Muslim community, or the Ummah more generally, is not a homogeneous group,” he said.
“We saw people from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and it was really interesting for us.”
Dan said his visit to Madinah, considered the second holiest city in Islam after Makkah for Muslims, was “profound and life-changing.”
He added: “I would say it’s my favourite city in the world due to the peace and tranquillity I felt there.”
Dan added that he was very impressed by Saudi hospitality: “Everywhere we went, people were taking down my number and insisting that we come for dinner, insisting they pick us up from the location. They were extremely attentive to Joshie as well, making sure his needs were met. We felt a great sense of welcome, something Saudi Arabia is known for.”
