Egyptian preacher Amr Khalid tops the list of Islamic religious preachers/scholars with the highest incomes for 2007, according to a Forbes Arabia magazine ranking.

The list, entitled “Da’awa Stars”, puts his net income at $2.5 million, followed by the Kuwaiti preacher Tariq Swidan with $1 million, Saudi Arabia’s Ayed Al Qurani - author of the famous book “Don’t Be Sad” - with $533,000, Egypt’s Amr Abdul Kafi -who is a resident of the UAE - with $373,000, and Saudi’s Salman Aouda with $267,000.  

According to the March 2008 issue of the magazine, the source of income of the scholars is mainly from TV production and programs on Arab TV channels, as well as royalty earnings from voice recordings from CD and religious tapes, in addition to religious and literary books by the scholars released in 2007 and the previous years.

The editorial of the “Forbes Arabia” magazine mentions that Da’awa (Call) in religion is based on individual and institutional activity, but it has become a source of income to many preachers, mass media, and printing, publication and technical production companies, and as such it is not deemed different from other business activities. The magazine emphasised on the importance of religious Da’waa “religious call” and Islamic teachings.

The list included statistics for a number of intellectual books and voice recordings by the five preachers. The magazine also published biographies highlighting the turning points in each scholar’s life, while also touching upon their future plans, particularly new editions of books and TV programs under production.

The list of “Da’waa Stars” is the first such list in the Arab World, which tracks incomes of religious preachers generated from their institutions and individual activities. The list is prepared on the basis of a number of criteria, including income from intellectual property rights, which the preacher gets from technical production companies against his voice recordings, as well as income from selling his writings, which he gets from publication and distribution companies. The list also takes into account the income from the remuneration the preacher receives from TV programs which he presents, in addition to the income from other intellectual activities such as training and lectures.

The magazine excluded from the list, income which is not related to Da’awa activities, as well as donations and financial endowments which the preacher receives, either from governmental or non- governmental institutions, the statement said.  –TradeArabia News Service