S. Abdallah S. Schleifer (born Marc Schleifer; 1935[2]) is a prominent Middle East expert; a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (United States) and at the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (Jordan).[3]

Sulayman Abdallah Sharif Schleifer
Born
Schleifer, Marc

1935
Brooklyn, New York
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materB.A., University of Pennsylvania, Political Science, 1956
M.A., American University of Beirut, Political Studies, 1980[1]
Occupation(s)Journalist, Commentator
Years active1970 - present
Employerthe American University in Cairo
Organization(s)Global Experts
Foreign Policy Research Institute,
Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought,
Al Arabiya

Career edit

A former NBC Cairo Bureau chief (1974 - 1983),[3] Schleifer also served as the Al Arabiya News bureau chief in Washington D.C. (2006 - 2007) and currently writes periodic columns for their website. He is the chief editor of the annual publication The 500 Most Influential Muslims.[4]

His career in journalism in the Middle East began in 1965, when he served as the first managing editor of The Jerusalem Star, an English-language Jordanian newspaper that has since changed its name to The Palestine News. In 1967, Schleifer became an editorial assistant and then a special correspondent for The New York Times in Jerusalem and then in Amman, and, from 1968-1972, the Middle East correspondent of Jeune Afrique.[3]

He is professor emeritus and senior fellow at the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research, at the American University in Cairo - which he founded, and for which he served as its first director (1985 - 2005).[1][3]

Schleifer was executive producer of Control Room (2004), a documentary film about Al Jazeera and its relations with the US Central Command.[5]

During his career, he has interviewed many Middle Eastern leaders—heads of state as well as Ayman al-Zawahiri the leader of Al-Qaeda since 2011.[6]

Born Mark Schleifer to a secular Jewish family on Long Island, he received his BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1956[1] where he was involved in Marxist movements. He is a convert to Islam with Sufi-orientation.[7][8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "S. Abdallah Schleifer". Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  2. ^ Terence Diggory, Encyclopedia of the New York School Poets (Infobase Publishing, 2009: ISBN 0-8160-5743-5), p. 274.
  3. ^ a b c d "S. Abdallah Schleifer". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 2015-07-13.
  4. ^ "Abdallah Schleifer".
  5. ^ Control Room (2004) - Full Cast & Crew at IMDb  
  6. ^ "Al-Qaeda's remaining leaders". BBC News. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  7. ^ Lawrence Wright (2006). The Looming Tower. Knopf. pp. Chapter 2. ISBN 0-375-41486-X.
  8. ^ "Prof. S. Abdallah Schleifer - American University of Cairo". Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.