Saudi Gazette report

CAIRO — Iran has institutionalized terrorism in all its manifestations, Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad told the Arab Information Ministers’ Council here on Tuesday.

Iran, he said, has been consistently trying to politicize Islam giving it a bad name.

He said Iran threatens and terrorizes those who oppose its ideology.

Al-Awwad blamed Iran for destabilizing the geopolitical structure of the Mideast region. He said the Iranian export of its revolution has shaken the security and stability of the Arab region and affected millions of people in the region.

The minister warned Arab media outlets not to fall prey to the Iranian efforts to influence the minds of the Arabs.

Al-Awwad said that it has become clear that Iran is using the Palestinian issue to further its own political interests.

The Arabs, he said, regard the Palestinian cause as their own and are sincere in striving for a peaceful solution.

“Until Palestinians get their state, it is the Arab media’s responsibility to present the facts before the world,” he said.

Condemning the Sinai attack on Al-Rawda mosque, Al-Awwad said that it necessitates the efforts to jointly take action against the media that promotes hate speech and violence.

He recalled the speech by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, at the inaugural meeting of the ministers of defense of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) in Riyadh on Sunday that the greatest danger of terrorism is the distortion of the Islamic creed.

Al-Awwad said the war against terrorism should be fought on many levels, the most important of which is the information field as some media sponsor terror groups.

“We have a huge challenge to develop the media as there is a deep relationship between the mass media and politics, economics and security,” the information minister said.

“We have to diagnose the ills affecting the Arab media and find solutions so that it carries out its role in emphasizing the value of life, instilling hope about a promising future and countering hate speech,” he added.