Moez Masoud

Moez Masoud (Arabic: معز مسعود) (born 1978) is an Egyptian scholar, public intellectual and producer who focuses on the fields of existential questions, inter-faith dialogue and spirituality in the modern world.

In November 2011, he was described by The Economist as one of the world's five most influential public presenters of the Islamic tradition. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought and a research affiliate with the Psychology and Religion Research Group at the University of Cambridge, from where he holds an MPhil degree, and is currently pursuing a PhD.

Moez Masoud
Moez Masoud at Davos 2012
Born	1978 Cairo, Egypt
Nationality	Egypt
Alma mater	Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge

Education and Academic Background

Masoud is a graduate of the American University in Cairo and has studied Islamic Theology & Sciences under the tutelage of numerous prominent scholars for over ten years. His studies have taken him to many cities in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries in search of all authentic sources that convey the inner, esoteric spirit of Islam as well as the orthodox understanding of its Sacred law. Masoud also holds an MPhil degree in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge, and is currently pursuing a PhD there. Masoud is also known as M. W. Zackie (his initials and middle name) in some academic publications and productions.

Masoud is well-respected by his peers as a Hafiz of the Qur'an (one who has memorized the entire Qur'an). During his university years, Masoud began to become popular as a discussion group leader. This led to his first TV show; the English language Parables in the Qur'an which garnered wide global viewership, including significant audiences in North America, Europe, Malaysia and Australia. His episodes were seen as encouraging Muslims to live a fruitful and successful contemporary life while embodying their religion's core spiritual teachings, properly understood. Various sequels were produced after that.

33rd Most Influential Muslim

In 2015, Masoud was featured as the 33rd most influential Muslim in the world by the Muslim 500. He was named "Egypt's most influential religious figure of the year" in 2008, and was featured in Georgetown University's "The 500 Most Influential Muslims of 2009," published by the Georgetown Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and later in the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 version, published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center respectively. After the Egyptian revolution (see below), Masoud participated in the first post-revolution Egyptian National Dialogue and has since become a key player in the social, political and economic reformation of Egypt.

Acamedia Global

Masoud founded the 'al-Tareeq al-Sahh' (The Enlightened Path) Institute in 2007 which later merged into Acamedia Global in 2011, as a non-profit foundation established for the purpose of advancing knowledge through the various communication media available today. Acamedia also has a production and publishing subsidiary (Acamedia Pictures and Acamedia Publishing), which collectively aims to "[bring] together the most compelling discourses of contemporary ideas and the timeless wisdom of sacred knowledge...in the fields of media production and broadcasting, publications, and other educational innitiatives." Acamedia is headquartered in Dubai with Research & Development and Production bases in both the UK and Egypt.

Acamedia Pictures has emerged as a regional leader in film and TV production and has produced both series of "Khutuwat Al-Shaytan", "Journey to Certitude", "Revolution Within" as well as "Clash" and "Brotherhood" films.

Media & Television

Masoud's media work has included directing, composing, singing, writing and producing songs, documentaries, TV series and films. His efforts have attracted much critical acclaim and have contributed to an expansion of dialogue between activists in the Arab world regarding the various critical issues, including the need for formal religious discourse in the Arab region to encompass and attend to nuanced issues presented by the modern world.

Masoud's television series in 2011 was called "Thawra 'ala El-Nafs" (A Revolution Within), and aired on Egyptian state television for the first time (Masoud - like various influential figures - was banned from appearing on official state TV during Mubarak's reign). It also aired on CBC, a post-revolution popular Egyptian satellite channel, and as a radio segment on Nogoum FM, Cairo's no. 1 radio station, making it accessible to millions of viewers and listeners across the country. Both the TV and radio versions of 'A Revolution Within' continue to receive much critical acclaim. Masoud went on to make a sequel of that show the following year.

Starting July 10, 2013, Masoud released his latest show throughout Ramadan. The show was named "Khutuwat Al-Shaytan" (Footsteps of The Devil), which was predicted to be an exceptional success and therefore was requested by many channels to broadcast. The rights went to five channels such as Abu Dhabi Al Oula, Al Emirat, CBC, CBC+2, alongside the broadcast on Nogoom FM, considered the most popular station in Egyptian radio. "Khutuwat Al-Shaytan" was ranked as one of the top 10 most viewed series in Ramadan that year. Masoud also aired a sequel of "Khutuwat Al-Shaytan" in Ramadan 2014 which was also popularly recevied and aired on MBC 1.

Films

Clash (Eshtebak) at Cannes Film Festival

Masoud produced, alongside Mohamed Hefzy and Eric Lagesse, the Egyptian film "Clash" which was the opening film in the official selection of the Un Certain Regard category at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The film is set in a police truck and features a group of demonstrators from across the divisions of Egyptian society forced together during the violent protests in Cairo in June 2013. The film was hailed as "one of the most telling depictions of modern Egypt yet filmed", and was produced by EMC Pictures, a sister company of Acamedia Pictures (see above).

Brotherhood

Masoud also produced the film "Brotherhood" based on the storyline of the series "Khutuwat Al-Shaytan 2". The story is set in post-revolution Cairo where Malik, embroiled in an outlawed religious organization, falls in love with Nada who recently joined his work. However, he soon discovers that her brother and father are police members of the Ministry of the Interior, and when her father, General Ibrahim, is killed, Malik is accused and violent conflict ensues between Malik and Nada's brother, Major Ramez.

International Events

Masoud is regularly invited to give lectures and lead workshops and his travels have taken him from all over the United States, Canada and Europe to Malaysia and Australia, attracting substantial coverage by both Western and Arab media. Masoud was a contributor to the 'On Faith' online forum, hosted by The Washington Post and Newsweek in discussions centered around faith and religion. At The Search for Mutual Understanding (an inter-faith conference held in Abu Dhabi in 2006) he gave a speech titled "Islam in the Modern World". It has been viewed on YouTube over 2 million times.

UN Dialogue

Masoud spoke at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Dialogue in Geneva, December 2015, representing the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. He addressed the current situation of refugees, focusing on root causes of ideological-based conflict based on his widely-circulated acamedic journal article, "An Analysis of Abu Mus'ab al-Suri's "Call to Global Islamic Resistance", and offered insights into what the global commmunity could do to help.

Council of Europe

Masoud also attended the Council of Europe's first World Forum for Democracy, and spoke at its key event, alongside Nobel Laureates and other personalities.

World Economic Forum

Masoud participated in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of 2012 in Davos, Switzerland. He shared panels with many of the world's leading scientists, religious leaders, philanthropists and youth activists, among others. Masoud's message was primarily a philosophical and psychological analysis of the challenges that he believed the Arab world would inevitably face in the few years that would follow the "Arab Spring", including issues of identity for Arabs and an overview of the requirements for renewal within the contemporary Islamic paradigm.

Egyptian National Dialogue

Masoud participated in the post-Tahrir Egyptian National Dialogue alongside a group of the nation's leading figures in various disciplines.

Open Letter to Baghdadi

In September 2014, Masoud, alongside other Muslim scholars, was one of the initial 100 signatories of the Letter to Baghdadi. The letter, that Masoud assisted with writing, constituted a theological refutation of the ideology and practises of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant according to traditional Islamic scholars and texts. The letter has since been signed by hundreds of Muslim scholars and community members and continues to be endorsed.

Social Media

Moez Masoud is active on various social media networks, including Facebook and Twitter, where he has over ten million followers online.

External links

• Official website: [1]
• Official Facebook Page: [2]
• Official Twitter Account: [3]
• Official YouTube Channel: [4]