The historic event was graced by the presence of the World Head and Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
‘I shall cause thy message to reach the corners of the earth’.
Prior to the keynote address, a report was delivered by Mr. Munir-ud-din Shams, the Managing Director of MTA International, in which he outlined the history of MTA and paid tribute to those who had advanced its cause, both past and present.
Subsequently, the audience, comprising senior representatives of MTA Studios from around the world, as well as central MTA staff members, viewed a short documentary exhibiting some of MTA’s most noteworthy and historic moments.
and was now broadcasting several different channels and had established dozens of studios globally. His Holiness said that the success of the channel was due to the blessings and favours of God Almighty.
His Holiness spoke of how MTA’s content was distinct to all other broadcasters and was a means of spreading a message of ‘peace’ and ‘morality’.
Reflecting upon the humble origins of the channel, His Holiness said that initially MTA broadcast only the weekly Friday Sermon. After some time, it started a daily service, before progressing to a multi-lingual international channel, broadcasting 24 hours a day worldwide.
His Holiness said that where there was previously just one MTA channel, now there were several, including MTA2 (established in 2004) covering European languages and regions, MTA Al-Arabiya (established in 2007) broadcasting to the Arab world and MTA Africa (established in 2016) broadcasting to the African Continent.
In contrast to other TV channels, His Holiness emphasised that MTA had always run its large-scale operations without any commercial revenue or state funding. His Holiness said this was only possible due to the Help of God Almighty.
His Holiness said that a key factor in keeping costs down was the spirit of volunteerism entrenched in MTA from the very start. He said that in all countries, men, women and children were volunteering countless hours in the service of MTA.
His Holiness said that he received letters from many people around the world, in which people wrote that they had come across MTA entirely by chance and found it to have a ‘magnetic effect’ and they came to learn for the first time the true teachings of Islam.
Whilst praising those who had contributed to MTA throughout its existence, His Holiness said that the real secret to its success was the continued help and support of God Almighty.
Highlighting the new avenues that are being utilised by MTA, His Holiness noted the success of MTA’s on-demand services and its increased reach through the use of social media.
His Holiness also mentioned that previously, MTA had been reliant upon outside companies when broadcasting live from external locations, however now it had its own in-house uplink facility.