Al-Bayan (radio station)

Broadcast area Syria, Iraq, Libya
Format Religious / News / Talk
Owner Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(unlicensed)
Website at the present, not known working website

Al-Bayan (Arabic: البيان) is Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL's) official radio station,[1] based in Iraq, owned and operated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which broadcasts at 92.5 on the FM dial. The station airs a news/talk format and broadcasts in the Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, and Russian languages.[2]

Sample from an English-language news bulletin broadcast in April 2015 on al-Bayan.

Originating from Mosul, Iraq, al-Bayan programs have been credited with being "highly professional and slickly produced" and have been compared to NPR and the BBC for tone and quality.[3][4][5] Al-Bayan's reporting on ISIL military operations have been referenced by the Associated Press and the Washington Post.[6][7]

Al-Bayan went on-air in early 2015 with English-language news bulletins added to the multilingual programming lineup in April of that year.[8][9] The station offers a wide range of programming including nasheed, Quran recitations, speeches, Fiqh, language instruction, and interview shows, interspersed with regular news bulletins and field reports from al-Bayan correspondents in Iraq and Syria.[10] English-language news bulletins are delivered by an American-accented, male newsreader and datelines are read in the Islamic calendar.[3]

Known frequencies (October, 2016) are: Iraq: Mosul 92.5/99.3 FM, Syria: Raqqah 99.9 FM[11] / Libya: Darnah 95.5 FM (irregular), Benghazi 94.3 FM (irregular).[12]

Sister stations

In February 2015, ISIL captured a radio station called "Makmadas" in Sirte, Libya. It is unclear whether that station is still under ISIL management.[13] An ISIL-owned satellite television station and a powerful radio station on 94.3 FM, also based out of Sirte and operating under the brand name "Al-Tawheed," began broadcasting the previous October. Radio Al-Tawheed (former Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation transmitter) have 10 kilowatts output power and is received in Europe via sporadic E propagation.[14]

See also

References

  1. "A News Agency With Scoops Directly From ISIS, and a Veneer of Objectivity". The New York Times. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  2. "Islamic State launches English-language radio news bulletins". Daily Telegraph. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 Sharma, Swati (4 June 2015). "Islamic State has an English-language radio broadcast that sounds eerily like NPR". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  4. Hinhant, Lori (1 June 2015). "The ISIS Station Targeting Foreign Recruits Sounds Like NPR". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. "Thanks for listening to ISIS radio in English". Public Radio International. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  6. Murphy, Brian. "Islamic State claims responsibility for Texas attack outside Muhammad cartoon show". Washington Post (5 May 2015). Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  7. Maamoun, Youssef (23 May 2015). "Islamic State Group Radio Claims Saudi Arabia Mosque Suicide Attack". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  8. Withnall, Adam (18 January 2015). "Isis to launch first 24-hour online TV channel featuring British hostage John Cantlie and flagship show 'Time to Recruit'". The Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  9. "ISIS launch English-language radio bulletins". Al-Arabiya. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  10. "Interview with Charlie Winter". BBC Radio 4. 12 May 2015.
  11. "Al Bayan Frequencies in Syria".
  12. "Al Bayan Frequencies in Libya".
  13. Mosendz, Polly (13 February 2015). "ISIS Takes Over Radio Station in Libya, Reports Say". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  14. Vella, Matthew (15 October 2014). "Islamic State to launch Sat-TV station in Libya – Herald". Malta Today. Retrieved 6 June 2015.

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