from Wikipedia, so we can judge where he's coming from:
Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst, journalist, and author. He studied political science at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and obtained a PhD in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter in Great Britain. While a student in college he authored his first book "The Politics of Damascus 1920-1946" and published it in 1997. It was a history book challenging the established norm since 1963, which said that independence was achieved through the armed revolts of the 1920s. Moubayed showed that the revolts had no effect on the independence of 1946 and it was the diplomatic struggle conducted by the urban statesmen, and the backing of Great Britain, that led to the French evacuation in 1946.
Moubayed specialized in modern Syrian affairs under the guidance of Munir al-Ajlani, a Syrian parliamentarian, minister, and scholar from the pre-Baath Era. Moubayed is the author of Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship (2000) and Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000 (2005). He is an expert on Syria's former president Shukri al-Quwatli. He currently teaches "Syrian history 1918-1958" at al-Kalamoun University, one of the first private universities to open in Syria. He is also a co-founder of al-Sharq Center for Strategic Studies, the first independent think-tank in Syria.
An advocate of the Palestinian Cause, he has written many articles on Palestinian affairs and was a strong supporter of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some anti-Arafat writers accused Moubayed of being an apologist for terrorism. He is also accused of being a creation of the reformist wing of the Baath Party that emerged under President Bashar Al-Assad.
Moubayed’s articles have appeared in al-Ahram Weekly and Asia Times. He has been outspoken in his calls for political reform in Syria, saying that Syria should return to the healthy, multi-party system that existed before the Baathists came to power in 1963.
In 2004, he created Syrianhistory.com, the first and online museum of Syrian history. It contains over 2,000 photographs, documents, and rare audiovisual material on Syria during the years 1900-2000. |
