Samir Kassir

Samir Kassir ( Arabic سمير قصير, DMG Samīr Qaṣīr ; * May 5, 1960 in Beirut ; † June 2, 2005 ibid) was a Lebanese journalist and intellectual .

The son of a Palestinian and a Syrian studied philosophy and history at Universities I and V in Paris . He was a professor of political science at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut- Aschrafiyya and a journalist for the Lebanese daily newspaper an-Nahar in Beirut. Known for his anti- Syrian and anti -government stance, he often commented on and analyzed the situation in the Middle East in European media. As a co-founder of the Democratic Left Movement, Kassir played an important role in the anti-Syrian demonstrations after the attack on the vehicle convoy of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri . In addition, Samir Kassir campaigned for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

Kassir was one of the first scholars to call for research into the Koran in a historical context against the background of Christian-Jewish late antiquity . On June 2, 2005, he was killed by a car bomb in front of his home in the Aschrafiyya district of Beirut . His funeral was held in St. Georges Orthodox Church .

Works (selection)

The Arab misfortune . Schiler-Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89930-151-X . Original title: Considérations sur le malheur arabe . Award: TR Fyvel Book Award from Index on Censorship
La guerre du Liban. De la dissension nationale au conflit régional . Karthala, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-213-02980-6
Histoire de Beyrouth . Fayard, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-86537-499-8 . Award: "Prix Phénix de littérature" 2004, a literary prize for Lebanon-related works in French

Web links

Literature by and about Samir Kassir in the catalog of the German National Library
official homepage

Individual evidence

↑ See: "The relocalization of the Koran in late antiquity pursued in the" Corpus Coranicum "project ... The new approach meets in substantial points with the concerns of avant-garde Arab intellectuals who - like the Lebanese historian Samir Kassir - for their part the construction denouncing an epoch boundary between late antiquity and Islam as fatal ", in Angelika Neuwirth : Der Koran - read European , NZZ, March 29, 2008 . Retrieved October 7, 2013.
^ Index on Censorship Award Winners 2007 . Retrieved October 7, 2013.

personal data
SURNAME	Kassir, Samir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Lebanese journalist
DATE OF BIRTH	May 5th 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH	Beirut
DATE OF DEATH	June 2, 2005
Place of death	Ashrafiyya , Beirut

[1] See: "The relocalization of the Koran in late antiquity pursued in the" Corpus Coranicum "project ... The new approach meets in substantial points with the concerns of avant-garde Arab intellectuals who - like the Lebanese historian Samir Kassir - for their part the construction denouncing an epoch boundary between late antiquity and Islam as fatal ", in Angelika Neuwirth : Der Koran - read European , NZZ, March 29, 2008 . Retrieved October 7, 2013.

[2] Index on Censorship Award Winners 2007 . Retrieved October 7, 2013.