Personal Info
- Country of residence: Saudi Arabia
Information
Ahmed Mazen Ahmed Asaad Al-Shugairi
(June 6, 1973 AD, Jeddah) is a Saudi journalist. He began presenting social
intellectual programmes, host of the TV series Khawatir, and former host of
Yalla Shabab. He composed TV programs about helping young people to mature in
their ideas, serve their faith, develop their skills, and discover their
knowledge of the world and their role in making it a better place. Al-Shugairi
became famous in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world after the series of the Khawatir
program, which achieved wide success due to the simplicity of its style and its
treatment of issues of youth and the Islamic nation, which always began with
his saying: “I am not a scholar, nor a mufti, nor a jurist, but a student of
knowledge.”
Al-Shugairi's beginning in the
field of media dates back to 2002 through the television program Yalla Shabab,
which he co-presented with a number of young men. On the MBC channel, whose
idea was to accompany a group of young men to the American preacher Hamza
Youssef in various locations, including the United States.
His role in television presentation
came through the Khawater program, which is a continuation of a project he
started by writing a group of weekly articles in the Saudi Al-Madina newspaper
under the title, Thoughts of a Young Man as well. For young men and women,
which he had to present alone due to the lack of much time on the MBC channel
schedule.
Al-Shukairy adopted awareness
projects on the ground with lectures and seminars in public events and
universities. Al-Shukairy adopted many young people interested in volunteering
and writing and provided them with a place to exchange ideas and experiences
and introduce themselves to people. He also supported the expenses of some
foreign students in universities, and he was among those who participated in
defending the Prophet of Islam Muhammad. By posting a video in English on the
Internet in response to the makers of the film insulting to the Prophet
Muhammad.
Foundation
assets
Ahmed Mazen Al-Shugairi is of
Hijazi origin, his family is from the Al-Shugairat tribe, which migrated from
the Hijaz to Egypt and then to Acre. Ahmed Mazen Al-Shugairi is also the
grandson of the politician Ahmed Asaad Al-Shugairi, head of the Palestine
Liberation Organization. His grandfather worked in Saudi Arabia as Minister of
State for United Nations Affairs under King Saud from 1957 to 1962.
Education and family
Al-Shugairi was born into a family
from Jeddah, and after completing his high school studies in Al-Manarat Schools
in Jeddah, he traveled to the United States of America to complete his
university studies there when he was 17 years old in Long Beach, California,
and obtained a Bachelor’s in Systems Management, then a Master’s in Business
Administration from the University California. to run his father's business.
Dreams and aspirations
In his childhood, he wished to be a
dentist specializing in orthodontics or a businessman, and he ended up studying
business administration and computers. Despite this, he always loved voluntary
work, and from this love, he opened the door to voluntary work in the media
through the Yalla Shabab program and then the Thoughts program. His life was
Like the life of any ordinary person in that he owns a commercial company and
was engaged in trade before entering the media, and his goals and plans were
very simple. He once found a file on his old device with his goals written on
it for the year two thousand, that is, for the next ten years. His goals were
to expand his commercial company and open a charitable hospital. Orphan
sponsorship and so on, but when he entered the media, everything changed
completely, and Al-Shugairi expressed that an important part of the inspiration
came to him during the attack on the United States in the events of September
11, which struck him in particular with tremendous panic as someone who spent
his decisive years in the United States, saying, “Many of us felt The necessity
of educating young people to understand religion more and in moderation.
turning points
There were several turning points
in Al-Shugairi's life, including the starting point of prayer, the starting
point of reading, the starting point of quitting smoking, the starting point of
marriage, the starting point of the Yalla Shabab program, the starting point of
the Khawater program. As for the most important first turning point in
Shugairi's life, it was in 1994, which was prayer. He says about it:
“And I still remember the first
prayer I performed was the Asr prayer, and I prayed it at home, and from that
day I began to pray, and during this period I was present in America, and the
second point was in the year 2000 in the month of March when he began to quit
smoking cigarettes and hookah.”
Quitting was neither easy nor
quick. It took Al-Shugairi to quit smoking for two full years full of
obstacles. He quit smoking one week and then resumed smoking the next week. The
reason for returning to smoking was either grief or annoyance, and then he
returned to quitting after the return of the enthusiasm for change. The third
turning point is The start of the Yalla Shabab program in 2002.
TV shows
Al-Shugairi entered the media by
chance, and his start was with the Yalla Shabab program. The program’s creator
was a friend of his, so he offered him the idea of participating with them, and
he went through the experience. The program was an idea by Hani Khoja and its
aim is to improve and change society in general, with a focus on the youth
category, especially the teenagers and twenties. He has been in the program
since The starters were Qaswara Al-Khatib and Issa Boughari, and Al-Shukairy
was supposed to work behind the scenes in preparing the program, but it was
destined for him to participate in presenting the program as well in addition
to the preparation.
Obstacles occurred to Al-Shukairy
in television programs, but as he says, he does not call them obstacles, but
rather divine signs for man, from which he can discern what God wants. After a
journey program with Sheikh Hamza Yusuf in the United States, Shugairi and the
others decided to repeat the same program on a new journey, but the MBC channel
rejected this offer. Only in the sense of an episode per week throughout
Ramadan because the journey is shown daily, so the MBC channel returned to
refuse and its argument is that the Ramadan schedule is full. Shugairi did not
give up and returned to the MBC channel with the idea of a new program that
lasts only five minutes and MBC has to put this program on at any time She
wanted, after thinking, the MBC channel requested a pilot episode from
Al-Shugairi despite his work with MBC five years ago, in addition to the fact
that the pilot episode is very expensive as it needs cameras and photographers.
Al-Shugairi almost abandoned the idea of the program that is shown in five
minutes, and these events All of them were three months before Ramadan and the
time is very short.
After these conversations and
events, Shugairi called on the same day, one of his friends telling him that he
and a whole team were coming to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to film a pilot
episode for a program, so this call, according to Shugairi, was a divine signal
to him, so he told his friend that he needed him on Thursday for one hour to
film an episode on the fast track. To send it to the MBC channel, the bathroom
cleaning episode was filmed and sent to MBC, and the approval did not come
until mid-August, and only two months remained until Ramadan. There are many
obstacles for the channel and Al-Shugairi, and if these obstacles were not
exploited, this program would not have appeared, as Al-Shugairi says.
Media activity
He has a number of media programs,
including:
come on guys
The Yalla Shabab program was
presented by Ahmed Al-Shugairi, Amr, Qaswara, and a group of young men, which
was shown on MBC channel years ago. 11 seasons, the last of which was in 2015,
which is the season in which the summary of the previous seasons was shown. The
ideas of the program’s seasons were distinct and were mostly seeking practical
attempts, and each year the program had an approach and a central idea that
revolved around it.
The Yalla Shabab program was a talk
and chat program. The pressures in it are less on Al-Shugairi as a result of
his presence in a group, as he is one member of a team, and also because Ahmed
Al-Fishawi was the main presenter of the team and Al-Shugairi was supportive of
him in the serious cultural field, in addition to the fact that the space for
entertainment is greater in Come on, guys, about thoughts. In filming and after
filming, the members of the program sit and chat in addition to the many funny
situations. The program’s policy depends on receiving guests, in each episode a
guest. As for thoughts, the responsibility was greater on Al-Shugairi, so all
eyes are on him for his appearance alone, in addition to that Preparing for it
took longer.
Journey with Sheikh Hamza Yusuf
In the following years, Al-Shukairy
participated in the television program Journey with Sheikh Hamza Yusef, whose
idea was based on a group of young people accompanying the American sheikh and
preacher Hamza Yusuf in various locations, including the United States. Through
the trip and his dialogues with young people, Yusef presented an integrated
vision of the relationship between Islam and the West. How can Muslims,
especially young people, invite others to their religion in a civilized and modern
way?
Reflections
Main article: Thoughts of a Young
Man (program)
Ahmed Al-Shugairi's most prominent
experience in television presentation came through the Khawater program, which
is a continuation of a project he started by writing weekly articles in
Al-Madina newspaper under the title, Thoughts of a Young Man as well. Addressed
to young men and women, and through these five minutes, Al-Shukairy deals with
a number of issues raised among young people, such as the hijab and work, and
the reason for the youth’s reluctance to read, in addition to asking questions
about the state of the Islamic nation and its ability to achieve renaissance
and self-sufficiency from its resources. However, the program was criticized
for its audacity in a way that the Arab viewer is not used to. Ahmed
Al-Shugairi’s fame increased in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world after this
series, which achieved great success, and some attribute the reason for his
success to the simplicity of his style and his treatment of youth and nation issues,
which always began with his saying:
“I am not a scholar, nor a mufti,
nor a jurist, but rather a seeker of knowledge.”
In the Khawatir program,
Al-Shukairy used a simple, smooth language that addresses the issues of
society. His words reach easily and easily without affectation or
artificiality. He addresses the mind and conscience at the same time in a
practical practice of the jurisprudence of calling to God, and a deep
understanding of the purposes of the Supreme Sharia applied on the ground, and
is stronger than all that method. Which Al-Shukairy presented as the model for
the youth of his generation through his work, manifesting and informing, so he
was one of the most influential preachers on the youth of his generation,
speaking in their language and language. Other cafes took the curve of killing
time, so Al-Andalusia was the first Islamic cafe to restore the book to its
status, and to be the nucleus of motivating the youth of the Iqra nation to
read.
From the first show of the program,
Khawater gained great popularity, especially among young men and women. The
presenter used to speak in a colloquial dialect and dress as young men wear,
which was a reason to bring him closer to young people, and he communicated
advice directly from young man to young man without any complication. Shugairi
was subjected to several fierce criticisms over the course of time. His
Thoughts, and the program met in its first edition with success in a way that
surprised everyone, including its presenter, who decided to continue Thoughts
as a Ramadan program every year and to continue success over the following
years. Ahmed Al Shugairi imposed himself in a few years, so his program rose to
the first row in the ladder of successful and distinguished programs that It
carries an added innovative value in the world of cultural media, material,
performance, directing, contemporary and keeping up with the latest arts of
attractive presentation full of innovations.
If it was between us
Program If We Were by Ahmed
Al-Shugairi, his idea is to evoke the Prophet Muhammad in the contemporary time
- the present - and whether Muslims will carry out their current behavior or
not. It aims to achieve the Sunnah of the Prophet in daily actions in the 21st
century. The program raises a question: How would the Messenger of God act or
judge certain situations in this time as if he were among us, and for this
reason Al-Shugairi goes down to the street and meets people, shedding light on
many of their daily practices And he compares them to the practices of the
Messenger, as it came in the biography of the Prophet, trying to extrapolate
the answers and lessons with the aim of embodying them in applied practices
that we carry out in our lives. In its episodes, the program discusses many
topics that affect our real life, such as how to deal with a water tap, the
importance of removing harm from the road, and the need to thank God for His
blessings in order to bless them. The program consists of two parts, each part
contains 15 episodes.
Qumra program
Main article: Qumra (program)
O program
Main article: Sen (program)
The first season was shown on MBC1
in 2021, and the second season was shown on the same channel in 2023.
Film charity from the city and film
charity from the sanctuary
In the movie Ihsan from the Haram,
Al-Shugairi touched on aspects of the management of the sanctuary, from
watering Zamzam to cleaning services, the process of perfuming, helping people
with special needs, and the reading of the sanctuary.
Social, cultural and literary
activity
Screenshot of Ahmed Al Shugairi's
website Thaqafa.com
In addition to programmes,
Al-Shugairi owns several cultural projects through which he seeks to return the
nation of Iqra to reading. In 2005, he started several endowment and non-profit
projects, including the Khawater program, the Andalusia Cultural Café in
Jeddah, and the Culture.net website. The aim of these projects is to improve
and develop society in a modern and acceptable way. In the youth segment. After
7 years have passed, Al-Shugairi, along with Al-Fozan Group, the International
Medical Center, and Osoul Company, decided to move these projects to the next
stage by establishing the non-profit Aram Al-Ihsan Holding Company, which seeks
to spread the concept of charity in society through the production of targeted
television programs, the development of the Andalusia Cultural Café, and the
transformation of the Culture.dot website. NET to a social networking site that
aims to spread the culture of reading and volunteer work, all this with the aim
of improving Arab societies to the best to reach the ranks of the first world.
Culture site
The Culture website contains a lot
of information related to issues that are raised from time to time in the program
and is presented in the form of a campaign in which a large number of Internet
users participate. The site includes clips from the Khawater program.
Andalusia Cafe
Main article: Andalusian Library
Al-Shugairi also established a
cultural café called Andalusia, which is located in the city of Jeddah in Saudi
Arabia. It contains books from various branches of knowledge. It is the first
cultural café in Jeddah. The café was later closed.
Al-Shukairy created the Andalusia
website on the Internet to take care of the cultural and literary affairs.
Ihsan website
Main article: Ihsan (website)
Al-Shugairi established the Ihsan
website or i7san, which is considered the first interactive social network to
spread culture and volunteer work in the Arab world, as it allows its members
to create and promote volunteer projects and obtain support. The site acts as a
link between volunteers, volunteer clubs and supporters, to promote volunteer
work in the Arab world.
The light of the Ihsan website
appeared when Ahmed Al-Shugairi launched it on the Internet and made it its
main goal to attract 100,000 volunteers in 2012 and another million volunteers
by 2014. The core purpose of a website such as Ihsan Network is to work as a
link between three parties: volunteers, volunteer clubs, supporters, To
activate volunteer work in the Arab world. Ihsan website users can volunteer
financially or in kind, or through personal effort in one of the volunteer
projects on the network.
Through the main page of the site,
it is possible to access: the main, members, clubs - and it is possible to join
existing clubs or create a special supportive club for a project - it is
possible to create a project or view and participate in existing projects, a
library, articles, news, polls, competitions, and through The homepage also
enables the individual to be a supporter of the site and its volunteer
projects.
Thoughts of a young man
Main articles: Thoughts of a Young
Man (book), Thoughts of a Young Man 2 (book), and Thoughts of a Young Man 3
(book)
A series no less influential than
the TV program Thoughts of a Young Man, which had a major role in changing many
young men and women and changing many social issues for the better, in its
style directed especially to the youth and adolescents, as it addresses souls
directly mixing love of religion, youth spirit and understanding of reality.
The first book of the series appeared in 2006, and although most of the topics
raised are the same as those raised in all parts of the program, additional
paragraphs have been added, especially for the paper version. Some texts and
revisions were also added to the rest of the topics. A series of thoughts
concerned with self-development, printed to keep pace with its acquisition in
the journeys in which some are forced to wait, and it is possible to transform
the ideas presented in this book into practical applications in the Arab world,
as there is no individual, whatever his age, job or social status, except that
he can benefit and apply one of The ideas presented in the three-part series.
The journey of the book, Thoughts of a Young Man, began with a collection of
articles written by Al-Shugairi before he decided to turn her idea into a short
TV program. Obeikan Library printed.
The series was characterized by the
sobriety and simplicity of the style, and the series is considered the paper
material for the program that millions admired and influenced many Muslims,
especially the target group of society, which is the youth group. He looked at
it, and it also carries with it some additions that I lacked in the previous
article.
family situation
Al-Shugairi married twice and
obtained a divorce with the first, and he is now married to Saudi Rola
Dashisha. The couple had two children, Youssef and Ibrahim. In addition to his
media activities, he owns a commercial project of his own, from which he spends
on himself and his family in selling household items, in addition to his
advocacy and volunteer work.
Cultural legacy
Since its inception, Al-Shugairi
drew attention to him with the idea of his program and the way he presented and
presented matters. He provided his youth with the characteristics of enthusiasm
and took from the elders their wisdom and eloquence of advice, so he was able
to mix between the wisdom of the sheikhs and the enthusiasm of the youth. To
occupy it until it became a symbol of inspiration for the Arab youth, and even
described them as a man of change.
Al-Shugairi was considered a
shining star for the new generation of satellite channels, whose educational
television programs helped revive the teachings of religion in the Arab world.
With the end of the last century, the number of channels devoted to religious
orientation increased from 1 to 30 channels, and religious education became
broadcast on public stations, such as the program presented by Al-Shugairi.
Many succeeded like him. In reaching out to a thirsty and well-informed young
audience, but completely estranged from both politics and the traditional religious
establishment, especially that prevalent in the Arab Republic of Egypt and
Saudi Arabia, Al-Shukairy was able to blend deep religious commitment with
elegance and a playful mood, and many times refer to Islam as a great creation
that needs ascending. Better, but his message of religious moderation is very
strong and clear, and he obtained an M.B.A. during his years in California.
Al-Shugairi is not the first or the
only one of its kind. The Egyptian thinker and reformer Amr Khaled began to
reach huge numbers of audiences during the past years. This field in the media
also expanded greatly through the creation of websites for each of them and the
writing of collections of books. Very different from the dry, educational style
of many Muslim sheikhs. In one of the episodes, the camera followed Shugairi
through the city of Jeddah in his wanderings, asking people where he could find
a library, and no one knew. Given to the poor until one time he sat like a
hidden camera - mute style - confronting people who were stealing wallets from
the sidewalk and asking them if the Prophet would do such behaviour, each time
Shugairi ends with lessons on environmental awareness and mindful leadership he
lived in the West and spoke of the Qur'an as a contemporary moral guide And not
a set of strict laws of the past centuries, as if he was saying: “You can enjoy
yourself, keep your independence, and at the same time be a good Muslim.”
Advocacy method
Ahmed Al-Shugairi’s advocacy method
in his last three seasons was based on the idea of learning through
observation, simulation, imitation, or in another concept, learning through
modeling or modeling. Pandora’s observational learning theory is one of the
psychology theories that have tried over the years to explain complex human
behavior. Then promote this behavior in different areas of life.
The word model refers to an actual
person whose behavior is a role model for those who observe him, so his
behavior is inspiring for the issuance of a response to everyone who observes
him, although the efforts of education scholars are vigorous in benefiting from
the data of this theory in advancing the level of education and advancing the
level of models and role models in the vicinity of children and youth in
particular However, these efforts have not achieved results - so far - to the
required level. And the biggest beneficiaries of the results of the
observational learning theory are the merchants and the owners of major
companies, which market goods and products by using symbols and models - from
famous people, artists and stars - for those goods and products in different
forms and situations.
The program also relied on the
theory and method of preaching shock, a method that Khawater started from the
fifth season and is still proceeding on his approach, despite the different
ways of dealing with each season. Khawater also found an outlet to get out of
the traditional stereotypical preaching, as he is trying to get out of the
completely ideal preaching system to broader horizons and more capable of
raising questions, even if his focus is on the primary, middle and secondary
stage. Most of those who give religious lectures or stand on platforms today
did nothing but read some heritage books, and only a few of them took it upon
themselves to teach people something new that they had not heard since they
were students in school, but serving religion is not only preaching, but rather
teaching. People how to build civilized societies, by teaching them how to
create a global education system, by pushing them to stand up to government
corruption, and by instilling the principles of human tolerance in their
hearts.
Theses Ahmed Shugairi
Ihsan
See also: Ihsan (Islam)
Charity logo
What is meant in the prophetic
definition of charity - according to Al-Shukairy - is that you do any work in
the best (better) way possible. With this concept, the word charity expands to
the meaning of perfection, and the benefactors are the ones who perfect their
work. In the best way, in the shelves designated for shoes, to be among the
benefactors, and when you perform ablution, make sure to leave the place clean
for the one after you, and do not waste water to be among the benefactors. One
of the benefactors, and so benevolence in all aspects of life. Charity as a
concept and a value that is missing in the Arab Islamic culture has been
repeated frequently in the Khawater program since the sixth season, where it is
employed as a flash alarm whenever a good deed picked up by the program is
shown, and Al-Shugairi’s message from his view of charity is to revive the
culture of charity represented in perfecting works and performing them in the
best way and in the best way.
Achievements and Awards
Awards and titles
Al-Shugairi won the first place as
the most powerful young influential figure in the Arab world in the referendum
conducted by the Emirati magazine Shabab 20. He was also nominated for the
second time in the same award and fought a strong competition with the Qur’an
reciter Mashari Rashid Al-Afasy, and he is one of the most attractive young men
in his way. giving him the speech.
In 2010, he won the Best Young
Media Personality Award at the Third Young Media Forum in Jordan. Al-Shugairi
ranked one hundred and forty-third (143) in the list of the five hundred most
influential Arab personalities in the Arab world. A list based on and published
by Arabian Business magazine, and it has now been published for the eighth year
in a row. It is a list of the five hundred most powerful (500) Arab
personalities who have been able to greatly influence their societies or the
societies in which they live. Usually, the list includes 100 personalities, but
the magazine decided to expand it in 2011 to 500 figures. In addition to
winning the award for the most respected personality and being ranked first in
the Arab world.
The Japanese Embassy in Saudi
Arabia honored Ahmed Al-Shugairi for his cooperation in developing the
relationship between Japan and Saudi Arabia through part of his program, where
Al-Shugairi dealt with Japanese culture in his program “Thoughts”. He was
awarded the certificate by the Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Endo in appreciation
of Al-Shugairi’s efforts. Increasing the interest of the Saudi people in all
aspects of Japanese society.” The memorial ceremony for awarding the
certificate of appreciation was held at the ambassador's residence, in the
presence of the representative of the Kingdom Holding Company, Dr. Mona Abu
Suleiman, and a number of former Saudi students in Japan.
Al-Shukairy's program, Khawatir,
won the Best TV Cultural Program Award.
Al-Shugairi won the Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Knowledge, the Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa
Award for Honoring the Pioneers of Voluntary Work, and the Ithra Award from the
King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture.
At the beginning of 2020, Ahmed
Al-Shugairi won the Education Academy Award sponsored by the Union of Arab
Creators, a member of the United Nations and the Arab League Federations Forum,
which is organized by the Human Resources Development Center in Dubai.
He won the Favorite Influencer
Award from the Joy Awards in its third edition 2023.
source
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