AL-Issa Meets with Egyptian Media Delegation

The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Mohammad al-Issa with the Egyptian delegation (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Mohammad al-Issa with the Egyptian delegation (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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AL-Issa Meets with Egyptian Media Delegation

The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Mohammad al-Issa with the Egyptian delegation (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Mohammad al-Issa with the Egyptian delegation (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Dr. Mohammad al-Issa, addressed the media's vital role in spreading the truth and promoting awareness of objectivity, impartiality, and professionalism, representing the moral value of responsibility.

Issa met with an Egyptian media delegation led by Chairman of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) Karam Gabr.

The Sec-Gen addressed the issue of media freedoms, stressing that it was a significant value as long as it was determined within legitimacy, adding that the Arab and Islamic media played an excellent role in advancing media responsibility.

He lauded the honorable media competition and said every media platform has values that distinguish it in the Arab and Islamic world.

Issa explained that as an international non-governmental organization concerned with the Islamic peoples, the League established several initiatives and programs worldwide based on its goals that focus on clarifying the truth of Islam and confronting ideas of extremism, terrorism, hatred, and racism.

He also noted that the MWL aims to support the Islamic role in collaborating between civilizations, especially building bridges of understanding and cooperation between followers of religions and cultures.

Issa asserted that the League does not deal with politics or interfere in any political matter, except issues that address its goals and core message, noting that its objectives and statements focus specifically on contributing to peace and harmony of the societies.

The Muslim World League will hold an international conference on media responsibility, with the participation of the most prominent Islamic and non-Islamic media figures and institutions worldwide.

The Egyptian delegation lauded the efforts of the League and the initiative to hold the conference on such an important issue.



Qatari Mission Searches for Bodies of Americans Killed by ISIS in Syria

A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)
A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)
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Qatari Mission Searches for Bodies of Americans Killed by ISIS in Syria

A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)
A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)

A Qatari mission has begun searching for the remains of US hostages killed by ISIS in Syria a decade ago, two sources briefed on the mission told Reuters, reviving a longstanding effort to recover their bodies.

ISIS, which controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq at the peak of its power from 2014-2017, beheaded numerous people in captivity, including Western hostages, and released videos of the killings.

Qatar's international search and rescue group began the search on Wednesday, accompanied by several Americans, the sources said. The group, deployed by Doha to earthquake zones in Morocco and Türkiye in recent years, had so far found the remains of three bodies, the sources said.

One of the sources - a Syrian security source - said the remains had yet to be identified. The second source said it was unclear how long the mission would last.

The US State Department had no immediate comment.

The Qatari mission gets under way as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar next week and as Syria's new rulers seek relief from US sanctions.

The Syrian source said the mission's initial focus was on looking for the body of aid worker Peter Kassig, who was beheaded by ISIS in 2014 in Dabiq in northern Syria. The second source said Kassig's remains were among those they hoped to find.

US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were among other Western hostages killed by ISIS. Their deaths were confirmed in 2014.

US aid worker Kayla Mueller was also killed in ISIS captivity. Her death was confirmed in 2015.

"We’re grateful for anyone taking on this task and risking their lives in some circumstances to try and find the bodies of Jim and the other hostages," said Diane Foley, James Foley's mother. "We thank all those involved in this effort."

Two ISIS members, both former British citizens who were part of a cell that beheaded American hostages, are serving life prison sentences in the United States.