Samir Kassir

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

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

Kassir called one of the first scholars to study the Koran in its historical context against the background of Jewish-Christian late antiquity. On 2 June 2005 he was killed in the Beirut district Aschrafiyya by a car bomb outside his house. His funeral was held in the Orthodox Church of St. George.

Works (selection)

• The Arabic misfortune. Schiler -Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89930 X -151. Original title: Considérations sur le malheur arabe. Award: T.R. Fyvel Book Award of the organization Index on Censorship
• La guerre du Liban. De la dissension national au conflit régional. Karthala, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-213-02980-6
• Histoire de Beyrouth. Fayard, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-86537-499-8