Sami Moubayed
Encyclopedia
Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst, journalist, and author based in Damascus
, Syria
. He is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine
, published in English in Syria since 2006. His articles on Middle East affairs have appeared in a variety of newspapers, including al-Ahram Weekly, Gulf News, The Daily Star, Asia Times, and an online panel with The Washington Post. He is the author of several books on modern Syria and his latest: "Syria and the USA: From Wilson to Eisenhower" is due for release in the US in May 2011, by IB Tauris.
and obtained his PhD in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter
.
He currently teaches at the Faculty of International Relations at al-Kalamoun University in Syria
and serves as a member of the university's Board of Trustees. He is also Vice-President of Haykal Media, the publisher of Forward Magazine. Over the last ten-years, Moubayed has interviewed leading regional and international figures, like Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Lebanese Presidents Elias Hrawi and Amin Gemayel.In December 2008, he was the first Syrian journalist to interview a US president, being ex-President Jimmy Carter, during the latter's visit to Damascus. The interview was published in Forward Magazine (a posh pro government magazine in Syria), the 1st Syrian media outlet to publish an article of the caliber. he also turned some heads lately by calling for the government to legalize prostitution, a taboo subject in a middle eastern country.
, Lebanon
, Iraq
, and Palestine
. He is the co-creator of www.syrianhistory.com, an online museum of Syrian history. It contains over 4,000 photographs, documents, and rare audiovisual material on Syria during the years 1900-2000.
Moubayed has written much about pre-Baath Syria, and is a specialist on former Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli, whose biography he authored in a book entitled "The George Washington of Syria" (Beirut, 2005). He has currently finished writing a television script for a 30-episode series on the former Syrian leader, which is due for release in 2009.
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. He is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine
Forward Magazine
Forward Magazine is a Syrian English-language newsmagazine published monthly in Damascus. It was the first private English-language periodical to be licensed in Syria, since all private media was nationalized by Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1958, during the short-lived Syrian-Egyptian union...
, published in English in Syria since 2006. His articles on Middle East affairs have appeared in a variety of newspapers, including al-Ahram Weekly, Gulf News, The Daily Star, Asia Times, and an online panel with The Washington Post. He is the author of several books on modern Syria and his latest: "Syria and the USA: From Wilson to Eisenhower" is due for release in the US in May 2011, by IB Tauris.
Biography
Moubayed studied at the Faculty of Political Science at the American University of BeirutAmerican University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
and obtained his PhD in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
.
He currently teaches at the Faculty of International Relations at al-Kalamoun University in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and serves as a member of the university's Board of Trustees. He is also Vice-President of Haykal Media, the publisher of Forward Magazine. Over the last ten-years, Moubayed has interviewed leading regional and international figures, like Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Lebanese Presidents Elias Hrawi and Amin Gemayel.In December 2008, he was the first Syrian journalist to interview a US president, being ex-President Jimmy Carter, during the latter's visit to Damascus. The interview was published in Forward Magazine (a posh pro government magazine in Syria), the 1st Syrian media outlet to publish an article of the caliber. he also turned some heads lately by calling for the government to legalize prostitution, a taboo subject in a middle eastern country.
Works
His works focus on SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. He is the co-creator of www.syrianhistory.com, an online museum of Syrian history. It contains over 4,000 photographs, documents, and rare audiovisual material on Syria during the years 1900-2000.
Moubayed has written much about pre-Baath Syria, and is a specialist on former Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli, whose biography he authored in a book entitled "The George Washington of Syria" (Beirut, 2005). He has currently finished writing a television script for a 30-episode series on the former Syrian leader, which is due for release in 2009.
Selected works
He is the author of several books on modern Syria, including:- The George Washington of Syria, (Beirut, 2005), a biography of Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli.
- Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship, (Maryland, 2000), the book covers the periods between 1949 and 1957, when ten coups shook SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Each attempt to overthrow the government was led by powers sympathetic to either the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
or the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The book claims ultimately that this destroyed Syria's chances for a stable democracy.
- Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000, (Cune Press, 2006), the book covers the Syrian nationalists who led the independence struggle against the French and the makers & shakers of post-1946 Syria, running up to 2000.
External links
- http://www.alsafahat.net/blog/?p=26834 "نقاب الشيطان الأخرس"
- Sami Moubayed Homepage (Last Accessed: 1 April 2007)
- Forward Magazine
- The Washington Post, PostGlobal Panelist(Last Accessed: 1 April 2007)
- Articles from worldpoliticswatch(Last Accessed: 1 April 2007)
- Syria History Museum(Last Accessed: 1 April 2007)