Kabah mosque’s grand imam Abdul Rehman Sudais called for setting up of a separate television channel to spread the teachings of the Sahaba — the colleagues of Prophet Mohammed. Sudais, who is regarded as the highest religious leader of the Muslims, plumped for the channel while speaking at a conference on the life and teachings of the Sahaba at the Ramlila Maidan here on Saturday. An estimated 90,000 people thronged the venue. The conference was organized by the Arshad Madani faction of Jamiat-ulama-i-Hind.

Ironically, less than a month ago, the Mahmood Madani-led faction’s managing committee had adopted a resolution, urging Muslim youths to refrain from watching TV and cinema. The stricture, it felt, would help youths to imbibe the true Islamic way of life.

The resolution had drawn criticism from some sections of the Muslim intelligentsia. Many had questioned the logic behind the plea to shun TV when channels like Peace TV are aimed at portraying the Islamic way of life and spreading of the teachings of the Prophet.

Sudais, on a five-day tour of India, has joined issue with the controversial resolution.

In his address in Arabic, the grand imam underlined the importance of inculcating the values professed by the Sahaba and the teachings from their lives into the daily lives of good Muslims. He urged parents to bring children up on these values. “A dedicated TV channel should be set up to ensure that people get to know about the noble lives of the sahaba and their messages,” Sudais said.