Faisal Al-Qasim, the journalist selected among the 100 most powerful Arab personalities. Who is this exceptional journalist, articulate interviewer, and pioneer? What do you know about him?
Faisal Al-Qasim is a Syrian journalist who holds British citizenship. A writer, activist, and host of several programs on Al Jazeera. He became famous for his controversial talk show “The Opposite Direction” on Al Jazeera, where Al-Qasim hosts two guests with opposing viewpoints on various topics, most of which are related to the politics of the Arab world.
Al-Qasim is known for his critical style as well as his willingness to break taboos, and he is often credited with the widespread popularity of Al Jazeera in the Arab world. He was listed by Arabian Business magazine as one of the most influential Arab figures of 2007, ranking 64th.
Al-Qasim was born in the village of Ath-Tha'lah in the As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria in 1961, and he belongs to the Druze community. He graduated in 1983 from Damascus University with a bachelor's degree in English literature, and later obtained a PhD in English literature from the University of Hull in the UK in 1990.
A Distinguished Career
He trained and worked as a presenter and producer of Arabic programs at the BBC between 1988 and 1989, worked as a program presenter at MBC television in 1991, and as a news presenter at the BBC Arabic channel between 1994 and 1996, before moving to Al Jazeera satellite channel where he gained his fame through “The Opposite Direction”.
He has written many articles for several institutions, including weekly columns in the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq, and has also written for the Emirati newspaper Gulf News.
Al-Qasim is married to a Syrian woman from the same village and has three children, two sons and a daughter: Saba, Aseel, and Adam. Outside of his media work, Al-Qasim is occupied with a range of interests, including surfing the internet, shopping, and listening to music. He is the brother of the artist Majd Al-Qasim.
Badge of Excellence
In 2014, Faisal Al-Qasim received the Badge of Excellence for the most influential figures in the world in the field of media, during a vote launched by the International Council for Human Rights, Arbitration, and Political and Strategic Studies.
In 2018, he won second place among more than one hundred influential intellectual, cultural, and media figures in the Arab world, according to the Global Influence Center in Switzerland.
Among his publications:
Politics and Literature
Memorize and Shut Up
The Missing Dialogue in Arab Culture
Nothing.
