Faisal Al-Qassem
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Faisal Al-Qasim (born June 3, 1961), also written as ''Faisal Al-Kasim'' in ( ar, فيصل القاسم) is a British-Syrian television personality based in Qatar, who is known for hosting the controversial live debate show ''
The Opposite Direction The Opposite Direction (Arabic: الاتجاه المعاكس , ''Al-Etjah Al-mo'akis'') is a political debate TV show that streams weekly, handling current events in the Middle East, and the Arab world. First episode was released in 1996, and to ...
'' ( ar, الاتجاه المعاكس, links=no) on
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
, where two guests with contradicting points of views debate on various topics but mostly topics related to
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
of the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
. Fights break out on some occasions. Al-Qassim is known for his provocative on-screen style and is frequently credited with playing a large part in Al Jazeera's reputation in the Arab world as willing to break taboos and potentially offend individuals and states. He was listed by Arabian Business Magazine as one of the top most influential Arab personalities for the year 2007, ranked as 64th.


Early life

Faisal Al-Qassim was born in 1961 in the village of Thaala,
Al-Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate and has an area of 5,550 km ...
, Syria. He is from the Druze religious minority in Syria. He graduated in 1983 from the
University of Damascus The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...
with a degree in English Literature, and later received his Ph.D. from the
University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...
in 1990. At Hull, he Initially studied drama, later moving on to television. As a child born into a poor family, Al-Qassim had to work various jobs including metalwork, harvesting, street cleaning, electrical work, and more tedious tasks. Since then, he dreamt of leaving that world to work in something that would allow him to have a public presence and voice. He had a very strong interest in radio and television and used to go to the city to watch television through windows of various houses. He once got caught doing so by a homeowner who accused him of being a thief. After hearing his story, however, he allowed him to enter the house and watch television with the family. Al Qassim's family were able to buy a black and white television set of their own after electricity was introduced to his village. Al-Qassim originally aspired to become a weather report presenter on television.


Career


Work in Media

Before joining Al Jazeera, Al-Qassem worked for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Arabic Radio and TV for over eight years as producer and anchor of political and cultural programs. * 1994-1996: Worked as a news presenter and host for the show "Behind the News" on BBC television. * 1993-1996: News journalist for The Arab Emirates Radio in London. * 1991: Producer and presenter of The Journalism Show for MBC channel. * 1989-1988: Producer and presenter of cultural shows in the Arab department at BBC. * Producer and presenter of multiple entertainment and music shows at BBC, including "Adwaa Wa Qadaya" (Lights and Cases), "Araa Wa Maraya" (Opinions and Mirrors), and others. * Producer and presenter of several political programs at BBC, including "Al-Aalam Hatha Al Sabaah" (The World This Morning), "Aalam Al Thaheera" (Afternoon World), and others. * Has many article contributions in Syrian newspapers. *1988-1992: Has many article contributions in "Al-Hayat" (Life), "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" (The Middle East), and "Huna London" (This is London) newspapers. * Has many article contributions is=n American Magazines. * Writes a weekly article in "Al-Sharq" (The East) Qatari Newspaper until today. * 1996: Joined Al-Jazeera as a news and show presenter. * 1997: Launched "The Opposite Direction" show.


The Opposite Direction

"The Opposite Direction" is regarded as probably the most controversial talk show in the history of Arab television. It is also one of the most popular, and has drawn official protest and complaints from officials. It is similar to
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
's ''
Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...
'', and is a political debate show that features guests who hold opposing opinions and debate a controversial topic. Hugh Miles writes in his book on Al-Jazeera "the show has been the source of numerous international disputes and instigated the severance of diplomatic relations with several neighboring countries." Dr. Faisal Al-Qassem prepares the show himself, researching, writing, and presenting it single-handedly. Through it, he has become one of the most famous faces in the Arab World. Al-Qassem's program has led to diplomatic crises between the state of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, where Al Jazeera is based, and several Arab countries, five of which withdrew their ambassadors from
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
in protest over the program. Faisal Al-Qassem has stated that his mission is to liberate the Arab World from dictatorship, despots, and traditions. He believes that Al-Jazeera and his show have been successful in doing that.


Publications

Al-Qassem has published the following book titles in Arabic: *Politics and Literature (Arabic: ) *Memorize and Shut-Up (Arabic: ) *The Missing Dialogue in Arab Culture (Arabic: )


Views & criticisms

Al-Qassem has been viewed in many cases as a big supporter of the 2011 Arab revolutions, by fueling them and spreading awareness through his show "The Opposite Direction". His colleague and friend, Yahya Abo-Zakariya, describes the introductory scenes of the show presented by Al-Qassem as more like revolution statements, backed up with dramatic music effects that made them sound very powerful. The show became a fuel to the revolutions and has allowed the accumulation of awareness on revolt and public awakening which in turn played a part in creating a situation of the Arab revolt against the current situation. Nonetheless, Al-Qassem has been widely criticized by various people for different reasons. He has been criticized for his selection of guests, such as for the episode on the alleged terrorist armed gangs of Syria, where he hosted a military personality to debate with a Lebanese author, where the military personality was viewed as incompetent and inappropriate for such a debate. In addition, a Syrian blogger has criticized and attacked him, describing him as sectarian due to his selection of pro-government guests only from the Christian sect to debate with opposition figures mainly from the Muslim-Sunni sect, accusing him of trying to give the revolution a sectarian appearance. Also, Al-Qassem's statements that described the
Yemeni Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
people as drunks due to their high percentage of qat drug addiction raised a huge amount of criticism on him and his show among Yemenis. Some have even demanded a public apology from him for insulting the
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
i people. On February 13, 2019, Israeli comedienne Noam Shuster-Eliassi, speaking to i24 News, joked that she would like to marry the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. On February 17, Al-Qassem posted on his Facebook account about Shuster-Eliassi's comment. Subsequently,
BBC Arabic BBC Arabic ( ar, بي بي سي عربي) may refer to the Literary Arabic language radio station run by the BBC World Service, as well as the BBC's satellite TV channel, and the website that serves as an Literary Arabic language news portal an ...
and
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
covered the story as if Shuster-Eliassi's proposal were genuine.


Personal life

Al-Kasim is married to a Syrian woman who comes from the same village and has 3 children, a girl, Saba, and two boys, Aseel and Adam. Outside his work in media, Al-Kasim enjoys a range of interests and pastimes including internet surfing, shopping, and listening to music.


References


External links

*https://twitter.com/kasimf {{DEFAULTSORT:Qassem, Faisal al- 1961 births Living people Syrian Druze Syrian people of Druze descent People from as-Suwayda Governorate Syrian television personalities Al Jazeera people Syrian television talk show hosts Alumni of the University of Hull