Ammar Abdulhamid عمار عبد الحميد | |
|---|---|
 Abdulhamid atFDD | |
| Born | (1966-05-30)30 May 1966 (age 59) |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
| Occupation(s) | Author, Activist and thinker |
| Spouse | Khawla Yusuf |
| Children | Oula and Mouhanad |
| Website | ammarabdulhamid.com Syrian Revolution Digest |
Ammar Abdulhamid (Arabic:عمار عبد الحميد; born 30 May 1966) is aSyrian-born author, human rights activist, politicaldissident, co-founder and president of theTharwa Foundation. Ammar was featured in the Arabic version ofNewsweek magazine as one of 43 people making a difference in theArab world in May 2005.[1][2]
Abdulhamid was born on 30 May 1966, to Syrian actressMuna Wassef and the late Syrian filmmakerMuhammad Shahin[citation needed] inDamascus,Syria.
By mid-1987, Ammar embraced the religion of his father,Islam and was a committedSunni Muslim. He told he had the intention of flying to Afghanistan via Pakistan to join theMujahideen and fight in theSoviet–Afghan War but decided against it once he found out that after the Soviet withdrawal, theMujahideen were fighting each other.[2]
He spent approximately eight years in theUnited States (1986–1994), studying astronomy and history. He graduated from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in history. He returned to Damascus in September 1994.
Ammar briefly taught social studies at the Pakistan International School of Damascus (PISOD) then located in Mazzeh, Damascus, between 1995 and 1997.
He married author and human-rights activist Khawla Yusuf.
Adbulhamid and Yusuf fled Damascus in September 2005, after calling for the overthrow of the Assad government. They currently live inWashington, D.C., with their two childrenOula (1986) and Mouhanad (1990) awaiting political asylum in the United States.[3] Oula works at theWashington Institute for Near East Policy and writes regularly.[4] Mouhanad has recently joined theInternational Medical Corps team.
Abdulhamid was a visiting fellow in theSaban Center for Middle East Policy at theBrookings Institution 2004–2006.[3][5]
Abdulhamid was a fellow at theFoundation for Defense of Democracies and is member of its Syria Working Group.[6]
Abdulhamid was the first Syrian to ever testify in front ofAmerican Congress 2006/2008 against what he viewed as crimes by the Syrian presidentBashar al-Assad and briefed presidents of the United States among other world leaders.[7]
In April 2012, a delegation of Syrian opposition members including Abdulhamid, visitedPristina,Kosovo. Abdulhamid said Kosovo had walked the path of civil war which "would be very useful for us" to learn from.[8] The visit was used by Russian disinformation campaigns to suggest that a Syrian training camp would be created in Kosovo.[9][10]
In 2012, Abdulhamid warned of deepening sectarianism in Syria as a result of government responses to the uprising.[11]
In 2014, Abdulhamid called for the United States to arm theSyrian opposition, enforce a no-fly zone and expand U.S. military action beyondIraq.[12]
Abdulhamid and Yusuf have founded several politically oriented foundations:
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