Said Aburish

Said Aburish(full name Saʿīd Muḥammad Khalīl ʾAbū Rīsh) (Arabic:سعيد محمد خليل أبو الريش;‎ 1 May 1935 – 29 August 2012), was aPalestinianjournalist and writer.^[1] Aburish was born inal-Eizariya(also known as "Bethany" ) in 1935, and he and his family moved toBeirutin 1948; during the1948 Arab–Israeli War,and through the years 1948–67, the site wascontrolled by Jordan.^[2]Aburish attended school inJerusalemandBeirut.He returned to Beirut in the 1950s as a reporter forRadio Free Europeand the LondonDaily Mail.He returned to al-Eizariya in 2009, dying there in 2012.^[3]

Writings

Over the years, Aburish wrote extensively about theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict,and his works on the subject includeCry Palestine,Children of BethanyandThe Forgotten Faithful: The Christians of the Holy Land.Aburish wrote a trio of biographies regarding three of the most prominent Arab presidents,Nasser: The Last Arab,Arafat: From Defender to DictatorandSaddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge.Aburish was also a strong critic of theSaudi royal family,most notably in the bookThe Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud.

Reception

Aburish garnered both praise and criticism for his style, with critics accusing him of "hyperbole".^[3]Aburish considered his work "revisionist history"; according to Douglas Martin ofThe New York Times,however, Aburish "reported facts and interpretations that were essentially truisms in the Arab world" —but "novel to Western readers."^[3]InThe Guardian,Andrew Lycettwrote that Aburish "did much to illuminate the relationship between the Middle East and the west."^[1]Reviewing Aburish'sA Brutal FriendshipforCommentary,Daniel Pipesremarked that Aburish's analysis of Arab society was "brief and superficial," arguing that Aburish's primary goal was to attribute the problems of the Arab world "to a vast British and American conspiracy." Despite this, Pipes concluded "outlandish as it may be, the book represents a main line of Arab thinking" and therefore "cannot be so easily dismissed."^[4]By contrast,Kathy EvanspraisedA Brutal FriendshipinThe Observer:"For several decades now, [Aburish] has been making Arab governments wince with pain and embarrassment. Why? Because among Arab authors, he is almost alone in speaking the truth."^[3]In a favorable review,Publishers Weeklyopined that while some of the material in Aburish'sSaddam Husseinwas "controversial," Aburish's account was "detailed, balanced," and "credible" given "Aburish's extensive contacts in the Arab world."Publishers Weeklycalled Aburish's prose "appropriately dramatic but not sensational."^[5]Elie Podeh, reviewing Aburish'sNasserfor theInternational Journal of Middle East Studies,criticized Aburish for "factual mistakes" and "misuse of sources," stating that "Aburish has ignored new sources... based on declassified archival material" in favor of "outdated studies as well as several biased interviews, which he accepts at face value." While acknowledging thatNasser"may be a good introduction to readers unfamiliar with the subject," Podeh commented "serious students... will have to wait for another biography."^[6]

Publications

Aburish, Said K.:Pay-off: Wheeling and dealing in the Arab world,A. Deutsch 1985.ISBN 978-0233977799
Aburish, Said K.:Children of Bethany: The Story of a Palestinian Family,Indiana University Press 1988.ISBN 978-0-253-30676-0
Aburish, Said K.:The St. Georges Hotel Bar, International Intrigue in Old Beirut, An Insider's Account,London, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1989.
Aburish, Said K.:Cry Palestine: inside the West Bank,Bloomsbury, London 1991.ISBN 978-0-7475-1005-5
Aburish, Said K.:The Forgotten Faithful: the Christians of the Holy Land,Quartet, London, 1993.ISBN 978-0-7043-7036-4
Aburish, Said K.:Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud,Bloomsbury, London, 1994.ISBN 978-0-7475-1468-8
Aburish, Said K.:Brutal Friendship: The West and the Arab Elite,Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1997.ISBN 978-0-575-06275-7
Aburish, Said K.:Arafat: From Defender to Dictator,Bloomsbury Pub. Ltd. (UK), 1998.ISBN 978-1-58234-049-4
Aburish, Said K.:Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge,Bloomsbury Pub., New York, U.S.A., 1999.ISBN 978-1-58234-050-0
Aburish, Said K.:Nasser: the Last Arab,Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, New York 2004.ISBN 978-0-312-28683-5

References

^^a ^bLycett, Andrew (6 September 2012)."Said Aburish obituary".The Guardian.London.Retrieved1 June2024.
^Houk, Marian (18 September 2012)."Said Aburish: Writer whose works shed much valuable light on affairs of the Middle East".The Independent.Retrieved1 June2024.
^^a ^b ^c ^dMartin, Douglas (7 September 2012)."Said K. Aburish, Palestinian Journalist, Dies at 77".New York Times.
^Pipes, Daniel(1 September 1998)."A Brutal Friendshipby Said K. Aburish ".Commentary.Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2016.Retrieved21 September2016.
^"Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge".Publishers Weekly.Retrieved1 June2024.
^Podeh, Elie (May 2007). "Nasser: The Last Arabby Said K. Aburish ".International Journal of Middle East Studies.39(2): 305–307.doi:10.1017/S0020743807070183.JSTOR 30069584.S2CID 162581806.

External links

SAID K. ABURISH - Journalist and Writer
Selling to Saddamissue 221 - July 1991New Internationalistfrom Pay Off: Wheeling and Dealing in the Arab World (André Deutsch) 1985.

[Lycett-1] Lycett, Andrew (6 September 2012)."Said Aburish obituary".The Guardian.London.Retrieved1 June2024.

[2] Houk, Marian (18 September 2012)."Said Aburish: Writer whose works shed much valuable light on affairs of the Middle East".The Independent.Retrieved1 June2024.

[Martin-3] Martin, Douglas (7 September 2012)."Said K. Aburish, Palestinian Journalist, Dies at 77".New York Times.

[4] Pipes, Daniel(1 September 1998)."A Brutal Friendshipby Said K. Aburish ".Commentary.Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2016.Retrieved21 September2016.

[5] "Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge".Publishers Weekly.Retrieved1 June2024.

[6] Podeh, Elie (May 2007). "Nasser: The Last Arabby Said K. Aburish ".International Journal of Middle East Studies.39(2): 305–307.doi:10.1017/S0020743807070183.JSTOR 30069584.S2CID 162581806.

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