Obituary: (1932-2006) On Sunday, a week after being admitted to hospital, popular religious TV presenter died of heart problems. He had been preparing a new series of Nour ala Nour (Light Upon Light) , his hugely popular religious talk show. His death, a day before his birthday, ends a 53-year-long career in the media. Farrag looked far younger than his 74 years, time which had done nothing to diminish his sharp memory, constant enthusiasm and sense of humour. His voice and eloquent classical Arabic intonation became the trademark of his media persona which was that of a pious, respectable figure. His name will remain associated with the ideas he brought to the religiously-oriented media. It was impossible not to be charmed by the paternal warmth with which he engulfed his acquaintance; meeting him thrice changed my outlook on several matters and I found myself wondering what it would be like to have been taught by him. As a one- time aspiring politician, spontaneous preacher, social critic and creative thinker he had inspired minds and souls alike. Nour ala Nour -- his best- known show, named after a Qur'anic verse -- was far from being a run of the mill programme, and quickly became a blockbuster. Farrag graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Commerce in 1953, and initially intended to follow a diplomatic career. But as he was waiting for the Foreign Affairs Ministry admission exam a friend invited him to try a radio announcer audition just for the fun of it. Thus began a career behind the microphone that he would pursue for more than half a century. Two years into his radio career he covered President Gamal Abdel-Nasser's pilgrimage to Mecca, and in 1955 began the political talk show Al-Maeda Al-Mustadira (The Round Table). The programme transferred to television and ran until 1977, only to be revived again in 1997. In 1961 he began Dars Al-Aasr (Lesson of the Age), a daily television programme, and among his many innovations on the administrative front was the building of a mosque on the Radio and Television Union premises to allow for the live broadcast of prayers. In the weekly Nour ala Nour Farrag aimed at "a clear understanding of religion and the elimination of misconceptions", something for which "Arab Muslims were in dire need at the time". The appeal of Nour ala Nour crossed generations, and in the realm of religious programming Farrag's influence was paramount, setting the tenor for successive generations of presenters. Farrag, however, disliked the term "religious show"; for him religion was a way of life and naturally touches on every aspect of experience. Farrag was at one point dubbed the "minister maker" -- a term he modestly dismissed -- since so many politicians rose to cabinet rank following appearances on his programmes. Farrag's name came to be associated with the late preacher and Awqaf (religious endowments) Minister Sheikh Mohamed Metwalli El-Shaarawi, whom he first met in 1963, in the office of the then Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Hassan Maamoun. El-Shaarawi was as yet unknown, and it was partly through Farrag's intervention that his wit and talent, notably as an interpreter of the Holy Book, came to be so widely appreciated. El-Shaarawi's first and last TV appearances, in 1963 and 1997, were both on Nour ala Nour. For many years Farrag served as secretary- general of the Islamic States Broadcasting Organisation (ISBO), a position he was the first to assume. He established radio centres throughout the Islamic world and briefly ran the Islamic News Agency (INA), managing to remain ISBO head even after President Anwar El-Sadat's peace treaty with Israel forced other Egyptians out of the organisation. Eager, modest, profound and full of optimism, Farrag was a media personality forged in another age, though he continued to work up until his death. He is survived by his wife, daughter and three sons.
