Holy fowl! Celebrity preacher Amr Khaled praises chicken 'that can bring you closer to God'

Holy fowl! Celebrity preacher Amr Khaled praises chicken 'that can bring you closer to God'
'Religious rock star' Amr Khaled has caused a stir after proclaiming the spiritual virtues of Saudi-branded chicken during Ramadan.
2 min read
18 May, 2018
Amr Khaled is no stranger to bringing his religious credentials to consumer capitalism [Getty]

Egyptian television preacher Amr Khaled has whipped the Twittersphere into a frenzy after his latest promotional appearance sees him laud a particular brand of chicken as possessing the power to bring you closer to God during the holy month of Ramadan.

In his latest advertising turn, Khaled brings together the paradoxical but commonly conflated concepts of consumer capitalism and religious devotion, turning his lyrical preaching style - that has amassed him a colossal following to the tune of 29 million Facebook followers across the Muslim world - to the health wonders of the humble chicken.

Thankfully, Khaled has glamourous Egyptian TV chef Assia Othman on hand to share some culinary (and spiritual) wisdom, proclaiming the virtues of additive-free and - questionably - ‘pure’ Wataniya chicken.

The video, advertising the Saudi poultry brand ‘Wataniya’, sees him make the case for being healthy during the holy month, while acknowledging the fear that - heaven forbid - breaking the fast with healthy food might not be satisfying or delicious.

Khaled then proclaims that feasting on such a virtuous bird will make your connection with God during night-time prayers “even sweeter”.

Predictably, the advert has attracted mixture of amusement, ridicule and anger from his enormous online following.


"Amr Khaled talks about the Wataniya chicken with the same enthusiasm as he does about the Battle of Badr"


"Amr Khaled promoting chicken reveals what is behind the masks of some preachers. Jerusalem has been taken and he is selling chicken?!


"Wishing you a good fast and a delicious Iftar"