A new media center will be set up in the Holy Sites next year to increase the number of foreign journalists covering the Haj, Dr. Adel Al-Turaifi, Minister of Culture and Information, has said. The Persian-speaking Channel ‘Farsi', which started broadcasting this year for the first time, has not been created to fight or attack anyone, said Al-Turaifi. Its main aim is to cover the Haj activities going on the ground in Persian language and cover the speech of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, press conferences held by security or health authorities and any Haj-related activities. The Arafat sermon was covered by 70 Arab and foreign channels. Over 250 journalists and reporters participated in covering the Haj rituals, he said, stressing that the live coverage on the ground presented by 1,000 reporters was successful, thanking the reporters for transmitting the true image of Haj to the entire world. "A number of foreign newspapers covered the Haj season with balance reports and presented the positive image of Haj, unlike the previous years. No doubt that the reporters, Saudi and non-Saudi, played a role in broadcasting the stories that reflect the true image of Islam and the spirituality associated with Haj," he said. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman directed all pertinent ministries, specifically the Ministry of Culture and Information, to exert utmost efforts to reflect the true meaning of Haj and make this year's pilgrimage a special one. The painstaking efforts the government exerts to serve the guests of Allah rebut claims from certain quarters bent on distorting the image of Haj and the Kingdom. "The Farsi Channel translated many things from Arabic into Persian including news and sent out a clear massage that the Kingdom does not have any problems with Iranian pilgrims and that the government welcomes Iranian pilgrims from all over the world. We did not ban pilgrims but the Iranian leadership and Revolutionary Guards did. However, they do not constitute the majority of Iranians as a number of Shiite scholars issued fatwas calling upon Iranians to perform the Haj," he said.
