Faisal al-Qassem

Dr. Faisal al-Qassem is a Syrian television personality who hosts "The Opposite Direction", a talk show on Al Jazeera. Al-Qassem is known for his provocative on-screen style, and is frequently credited with playing a large part in Al Jazeera's reputation in the Arab world as willing to break taboos and potentially offend individuals and states. [Cohn, Martin Regg (2003). Al-Jazeera's free-speech gambit. "The Toronto Star" March 23, p.F5.] [Whitaker, Brian (2003). Battle station: With its broadcast of Osama bin Laden's videos and exclusive footage of the Afghan war, the tiny satellite TV channel Al Jazeera made a huge name for itself. "The Guardian" February 7, p.2.] Al-Qassem's program has led to diplomatic crises between the state of Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based, and several Arab countries, five of which withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in protest over the program. [Tayler, Jeffrey. "The Faisal factor: a talk-show host on al-Jazeera targets those he believes are the worst enemies the Arabs have: themselves.(Brief Lives)." The Atlantic Monthly 294.4 (Nov 2004): 41(3).]

Before joining Al Jazeera, he worked for the BBC Arabic Radio and TV for over eight years as producer and anchor of political and cultural programs.

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