As the host of Future TV’s longest running show, Khalik Bil Beit, Zahi Wehbe is often credited for making culture accessible to large audiences across the Arab World. Now after over 10 years on the air and more than 500 interviews with personalities as diverse as Hezballah leader Hassan Nasrallah and renowned Egyptian actor Adel Imam, Wehbe has embarked on a new show, Ahla Al Nas, again as a host to celebrities, but this time in front of an audience.
His 22-year career in the field of journalism, which began as a late night poetry reader at Voice of the National Resistance radio, has garnered him many accolades, including the title of “One of the Most Influential Media Personalities in the Arab World,” according to a recent issue of the Arabic Edition of Newsweek.

“I don’t think of myself as a famous person,” he says with his trademark calm and candor during a one-hour interview at one of his favorite coffee places in Hamra. “I’m a simple Arab who is in pain because I live in a world filled with suffering and oppression.”
Wehbe speaks from experience. Growing up in the Lebanon-Israel border town of Aynata, he witnessed the Israeli invasion first hand. His taking up arms against the occupation in the mid-1980s landed him in the Israeli prison of Atlit as well as the Ansar detention camp, where he was interrogated and tortured by both the Israeli army and the Israel-supported South Lebanon Army.
In addition to being a broadcaster, Wehbe is an accomplished poet and respected columnist. The 42-year-old spoke to MEB Journal about the milestones that have marked his life, including his relationship with Future TV, his decision to stay with the increasingly politicized broadcaster despite offers from other stations, and a lawsuit he now faces for allegedly libeling the Lebanese President.

Why was Khalik Bil Beit discontinued after over 10 successful years?
I always said that my dream was to run Khalik Bil Beit for 10 years. And thankfully, I realized my dream. The truth is there was a discussion between me and Future TV’s Chairman of the Board Nadim Munla over what to do with the show two years ago, even before the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. But with the country in turmoil in the wake of the assassination, we kept postponing a final decision. We discussed several options such as making changes to the content of the show without changing its name or changing the entire show. I said I would rather change the entire show, not just the name because no matter how much you change, it’ll still be known as Khalik Bil Beit.

Is there a secret to getting guests to open up and share their lives and experiences on air?
I think the most important thing was respecting them, making them feel they were in a respectful environment and reassuring them that the questions I was asking – even the personal ones – were to enlighten the audience, not hurt them or pry into their private lives. Any question or topic can be discussed, but the key is how to address it.

Some credit you with bringing culture back to TV and making it accessible to and entertaining for the masses. Do you believe you have achieved that?
Actually, one of my concerns was not making a show that only targeted the elite. I wanted to make a show all segments would watch, from my aunt, to my neighbors, to the owner of the grocery store. It’s also part of my personality. I like simple things and I know how to simplify things. I don’t like fancy words and I don’t like to show off.
What have you learned from working on Khalik Bil Beit for the last 10 years?
I believe that the real school I graduated from is Khalik Bil Beit. No higher degree in any college in the world takes a decade to complete. But I spent 10 consecutive years studying and learning from the show. Each week, it was like an encyclopedia that I read twice, once in preparation for the program and then again during the live broadcasts.
Every single guest offered a tremendous personal experience to delve into.
I’m one of those people who believe that if you don’t learn something new every day, it’s as if this day never was. I remember asking the great filmmaker Youssef Chahine: “What’s your dream after turning 70?” And he said: “I’d love to live a little longer to learn a bit more.” Imagine someone like Youssef Chahine saying that! I learned this love of knowledge from him.

Who was the most memorable guest on the show?
I’d say the late Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous, who was my first guest. He had cancer and only had six months left but he was very hopeful and loved life. I learned from him that creativity can triumph over hardships.

Did Future’s management ever impose a guest on you?
As the host of a cultural show, I should interview any cultural or creative personality irrespective of his or her political views. Future TV has given me a great margin of freedom to choose the guests I want to interview and the topics to discuss. And the variety of guests from the different intellectual and cultural movements I have interviewed is a testament to that.
But I’m not an isolated island within Future. Sometimes the Chairman of the Board would question my choices and even suggest names of guests for me to host for commercial reasons more than anything else. But when we would discuss these choices, I always managed to convince him of my point of view. But they never imposed on me anything I didn’t want to do.
What’s the concept behind your new show Ahla Al Nas?
The idea is inspired by the famous American show Inside the Actors Studio. But unlike that show, Ahla Al Nas will not to be restricted to actors but it will include singers, authors, painters, you know, the same kind of guests who used to appear on Khalik Bil Beit but with a potential to appeal to the youth. And students will always be part of the show.

What kind of experience does Ahla Al Nas offer you, compared to Khalik Bil Beit?
I’m used to presenting all my shows live. Ahla Al Nas is taped and there’s a big difference between the two. There’s a joy in doing a live show; there’s a direct connection with the audience who feels that what they are seeing is happening now. A taped show doesn’t provide this thrill but what compensates for it is the thorough preparation, the editing, the selection of segments and images, which is another joy I’m now discovering. Also, before it was just me and the guest, but now there are over 70 students in the audience who can comment and participate. It’s a new experience for me, the most enjoyable part of which is giving students the chance to speak and letting go of the “narcissism” of the host.

The Arabic edition of Newsweek listed you as “One of the Most Influential Media Personalities in the Arab World”. What does this title mean to you?
It makes me happy and surprised at the same time. I do hope to have an influence and play a role in the Arab World. I love my country. I’d love for Arabs to be better and I’d love for the image of Arabs to be better. Often Arabs are misrepresented in the media. But most of the time, it’s also our fault as Arabs. It’s not just about making our image better; we also have to address the origins of the image. It’s not always the photographer’s fault. We have to make our image better by respecting freedoms, especially individual freedoms.

In the mid-1980s, you were detained and tortured by the Israeli army for fighting the occupation of South Lebanon. How has this experience affected you?
It made me more mature. When I was imprisoned by the Israelis I was 17, but when I got out I was older than 18. It was a time of reflection for me. Incarceration taught me how to value individual freedom.

In late 2005, you were criticized by some for writing an open letter in the Al Mustaqbal newspaper asking “Your Excellency, the Murderer” to leave. Although you did not refer to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud by name, you are now being sued for libeling him.
The Attorney General claims that ‘Excellency’ is a title used to refer to the president but in my opinion this law was annulled by a decree issued during the term of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that abolished all titles for politicians. It’s a piece of literature but I still respect the judicial system. It’s just a shame for this to happen at a time when people are being killed without us knowing who is behind these assassinations—that they actually have time to try a writer or poet for his work or a journalist for an article. I never expected it. I was surprised. And I expect a not guilty verdict. I don’t think anyone can try a writer or poet for what they think he intended to say, no matter what that may be, as long as the article doesn’t contain any direct reference to anyone. I’m being tried for my intentions and this is very serious in my opinion. [At press time, the verdict was not yet in.]

On a recent talk show, you said you favored a Palestinian passport over an American one, which prompted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to issue a passport in your name within 48 hours. What does this Palestinian nationality mean to you?
I think of the passport as a medal of honor. As much as I cherish my Lebanese identity, I treasure my belonging to Palestine, which has sacrificed and suffered so much, and which is fighting for its right to live.

You’ve been with Future since its inception in 1993. Have you ever considered leaving?
I got many offers, most recently when I announced the end of Khalik Bil Beit, because some channels thought I was leaving Future. I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t make me happy to be presented with opportunities, to be in demand. But frankly, I don’t think about leaving Future because I have a deep relationship with both the station and the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. And as long as I get along with the station on a professional level and as long as I have the freedom, which is what they have given me since the beginning, I would not consider leaving.
I also believe that consistency is part of success. I think that when a media personality keeps changing stations, his credibility suffers – in a sense that people don’t get easily used to him when he moves to a new station.

Some people might consider Future as a propaganda channel in the current politically charged atmosphere in Lebanon. How do you maintain your objectivity?
I want to say that I’m one of those people who strongly support Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s project for Lebanon; the construction, independence, stability to build a country that befits the Lebanese. I also support the Resistance against the Israeli occupation, but I don’t support the opposition. And there’s a big difference between the two. Any media personality, irrespective of his convictions, has the right to have any political or ideological opinion, just like any other human being. Wherever he may work, he decides whether he wants to lose his objectivity. He decides whether he wants to be a media person whose role is to help unite and stabilize or shake and destabilize the country and the people. I belong to the first group. I surely chose this not by coincidence. I want to be a contributor to anything that serves the better good of Lebanon.
Future is known to be highly critical of Hezballah, but your work has been honored by the Committee for the Support of the Islamic Resistance. Does your employment at Future conflict with your relationship with Hezballah?
I support the Resistance 100 percent when it fights Israel in [the southern border village of] Maroun Al Ras, for example, but I disagree with the parties of the Resistance when they move the confrontations to Ras Beirut [a Beirut district]. I support the Resistance in its natural place, which is on the confrontation front with Israel.
In any case, Future also supported the Resistance and its cause when it fought Israel. It even adopted the cause of the prisoners held in Israel and aired a whole show on them. And I personally carried a letter from Samir Al Kantar, who has been imprisoned in Israel for more than 27 years, to the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. But when it comes to the independence, freedom and stability of Lebanon, I support the independence, freedom and stability of my country.