Lebanon Public Figure Directory
Samir Kassir was born in 1960 to a Lebanese Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. He grew up in Lebanon and moved to Paris where he received his degree in philosophy and political philosophy in 1984 from the University of Sorbonne. In 1990, Kassir earned his PhD in Modern History from the same university and joined the Department of Political Studies at Université Saint Joseph in Beirut as a lecturer. He also wrote for several dailies, weeklies and periodicals including Lebanon's leading Annahar daily, the pan-Arab London-based Al-Hayat, the French Le Monde Diplomatique, and the Beirut-based L'Orient Le Jour.
In 1992, Samir Kassir co-authored a book in French titled Journeys from Paris to Jerusalem. In 1994, he published his second book in French titled Lebanon's War and in 2003, he released his third book, Beirut's History, also in French. In 2004, he published two books in Arabic, Syria's Democracy & Lebanon's Independence and Military Against Whom.
Starting in the mid-1990s, Kassir became especially known for his weekly editorial in Annahar, appearing every Friday. He was among the very few who lashed out - through his editorials and public appearances - at the Syrian regime's hegemony in Lebanon. Unlike Lebanese nationalists, Kassir endorsed a broader perspective on democracy and freedom not only in Lebanon, but also in Syria and the rest of the Arab world. His support of Arab democracy did not make of him a pan-Arab nationalist per se. Coming from an internationalist leftist school of thought, Kassir was as opposed to national chauvinism as he was to dictatorships and oppression.
Kassir's leftism didn't undermine his support of an independent, free and sovereign Lebanon, even though Kassir's top priorities for Lebanon, after the collapse of Syrian influence, was democracy and secularism. During the heyday of Lebanon's Independence Uprising in March 2005, when anti-Syrian sentiment ran high among the Lebanese leading in some cases to the assaults against Syrian workers in Lebanon, Kassir came out as an outspoken defender of these workers' rights reiterating - time and again - his position that the opposition to Syria's dictatorship should not be confused with how the Lebanese view Syrian people at large.
Kassir was a firm believer that the "Beirut Spring" would certainly lead to a wave of democracy in Damascus and would sweep the Syrian dictatorship off the seat that it has been occupying since 1970. His writings about Syria's thrive to democracy was second only to his concern of ending Syria's influence in Lebanon and the dismantling of the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence apparatuses whose rule had undermined the establishment of democracy in both countries.
"Our Syrian brethren - including workers, businessmen and intellectuals - might have been offended for a while of what they thought was targeted against them while this is in fact the fruit of the repression that has been strangling both them and the Lebanese, but they will soon realize - more than others - that the Arab Spring, when it flourishes in Beirut, it would be announcing the time for roses in Damascus," according to Kassir.
Kassir welcomed America's support of democracy in the Arab world on the condition that the United States gives up its old and simplistic understanding of Arab democracy. "What [Arab-American] reconciliation needs, if the United States were really willing to reach such reconciliation, is first [America's] revision of its understanding of Arab democracy, which has been restricted until now, to the American convention that mandates Arabs give up their pan-Arab ties... and the issues that steer their feelings most, on top of them the Palestinian issue," Kassir wrote.
Kassir was never dogmatic in his opposition to foreign intervention in the affairs of Lebanon and the Arab world. While several Lebanese expressed their total or partial opposition to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which mandated that Syria withdraws its troops from Lebanon and disbands armed militias still operating on the Lebanese soil, Kassir was bold in supporting the resolution. In an interview with the Kuwait-based Assiyasah newspaper on November 5, 2004, Kassir responded to a question whether he believed that UNSC Resolution 1559 "was a sword directed at Lebanon." Kassir said that to him, it "was a sword against Syria, while we as Lebanese cannot but support this resolution because we want the sovereignty and independence of our country."
He added: "We are not embarrassed by this resolution because all of its clauses intersect with previous UN and Arab League resolutions as well as the Taef Accord. [Resolution 1559] has become part of international legitimacy, which has always been the refuge for Lebanon, Syria and all other countries. We have no interest in becoming the enemies of international legitimacy or rejecting the implementation of its resolutions."
Kassir was outspoken in his opposition to the Bush administration. He was critical of the US unwavering support for Israel and of the simplistic perspective of the US campaign to spread democracy in the Arab world.
On domestic Lebanese issues, Kassir was relentless in his criticism of Lebanese politicians when he felt they erred. Of particular importance was his piece on May 6, 2005, a day before the return from exile of former Army Commander, Michel Aoun, to Beirut. Michel Aoun "should not come forward as the father of independence because that way, he would be losing the meaning of the [Independence Uprising] achievement." Naturally, with his yearning for democracy, Kassir found it uneasy to see someone trying to monopolize what he perceived as the achievement of all the Lebanese people.
Finally, Kassir was a vibrant voice and one of the founders of the Democratic Left Movement. The group that was founded in Beirut in November 2004 was, according to Kassir, a necessity.
Kassir realized that the left in Lebanon had survived two bitter experiences: the unconvincing experience with the National Movement that ended with the complete marginalization of the left after 1990 at the hands of the Syrians, and the downfall of the Soviet Union which affected the left at large.
He believed that despite all odds, Lebanon still had room for political parties' activism. "We should admit that the current situation does not seem suitable for leftist thought, whether on the economic level with the hegemony of complete liberalism or on the intellectual level with the domination of Islamic thought," he told Assiyasah.
"Still, there is space for this secular movement that has become frustrated with the liberal experience. In my opinion, there is a need for an effort that helps the establishment of social justice while taking into consideration all the qualifications and reservations against the welfare state."
According to Kassir, the founders of the Democratic Left Movement insisted that their group would not be an offshoot of the Lebanese Communist Party but rather a whole new party. "This convinced me to join this adventure," he said.
The rising star of the handsome, middle aged, bearded journalist, university lecturer and one of the Democratic Left Movement's founders was the envy of many who became his avowed enemies, on top of them was the Lebanese and Syrian security personnel who chased Samir and harassed him for almost a decade.
On Thursday June 2, 2005, Samir boarded his Alfa Romeo that was parked in front of his apartment building in the Ashrafieh quarter of Beirut on his way to Annahar. As he stepped into his car, a bomb exploded under his seat leading to his instant death.
Samir was the 28th journalist to be killed since the Ottomans hanged several Lebanese and Syrian pro-independence journalists and activists in 1918. His death provoked outrage in Lebanon and around the world. While his friends and supporters in Beirut, Washington and Paris held candle vigils and demonstrations in tribute to their lost inspiration, the Security Council convened - in a surprising step - to condemn his killing.
At 45 years of age, the life of one of the most talented and courageous journalists in the Middle East was ended prematurely, leaving behind his wife, prominent TV presenter Giselle Khoury and two daughters Mayssa and Eliana. Yet, his comrades at the Democratic Left Movement, friends, and supporters vowed to keep his memory alive and to follow in his footsteps in his pursuit to achieve democracy, secularism and social justice in Lebanon and the Arab world.