“Ammar Abdulhamid is a
young man who embraces the East of his birth and the West of his future and
this collection of reflections illustrates his courage to share the hard truths
all of us face. It is also a book of illumination
and of an awakening of the mind and the soul.
Simply put, it will dare you to question.”
-- The late Fouad
Ajami, author of The Arab Predicament, The Dream Palace of the Arabs, and The
Syrian Rebellion.
“This is an important
work, a book that brings a perspective from a Syrian writer, thinker and
philosopher that causes the reader to step back and rethink one's assumptions
about Syria, even one's life. Ammar Abdulhamid's book is a must read for
those trying to understand why and how certain individuals keep plodding ahead
even in the face of tragedy.”
--David M. Crane Former Chief Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone
and director of the Syrian Accountability Project.
“Ammar Abdulhamid has
been one of the brightest stars in Syria's pro-Democracy firmament. He is a
true liberal and revolutionary. A decade ago, he caused a firestorm in Syria's
activist circles by denouncing Arab nationalism, calling President Assad a
"fool" publicly, and championing Kurdish and women's rights in his
think tank in Damascus. During the opening weeks of the Syrian uprising,
Abdulhamid wrestled openly with the terrifying prospect that the Syrian
opposition was not prepared or strong enough to take on the brutal Assad regime.
One cannot have a surer or more honest guide to the inner-workings and
conscience of Syria's opposition movement than Ammar Abdulhamid.”
--Joshua Landis, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies –
University of Oklahoma.
“Ammar Abdulhamid’s
extraordinary reflections are anything but irreverent. Searingly honest,
bitter, unadorned, and unrelenting, they overcome despair and, at times,
inspire, through their insistence on the possibilities and potential that
reside in us all, however flawed and vulnerable we may be.”
--Steven Heydemann, Vice President, Applied Research on Conflict, United
States Institute of Peace.
“These dark aphorisms
from an activist and “heretic” who “can respect but never revere” originated as
tweets or Facebook status updates, yet some look a little like ejaculations
from Nietzsche or one of the classical Sufi seekers. Reading them is a strange journey
into a crash site of genres, made more strange and much more immediate by the
knowledge that the phrases were squeezed from Syria’s blood-sodden struggle for
freedom. They reflect on war, religion, history, and the human heart, and do so
with a vulnerability and stark honesty usually absent from revolutionary
discourses.”
--Robin Yassin-Kassab: author of The Road from Damascus, a novel. He
co-edits www.pulsemedia.org and blogs at www.qunfuz.com.
“One way to read Ammar
Abdulhamid's “Heretical Affirmations” and “Abel's Confessions” is as a long
meditation on Syria. More generally, it is a window through which readers will
discern how the author's experiences there have shaped his own philosophy of life.
Profoundly pessimistic in places, Abdulhamid's collection is thought-provoking,
profound and invariably original.”
--Michael Young: opinion editor at The Daily Star newspaper in Beirut
and author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon's
Life Struggle, 2010.
“Ammar Abdulhamid’s,
The Irreverent Activist, is the work of a truly unique voice from Syria
grappling with the injustice and horrors unfolding in his homeland. Through his
Affirmations and Confessions, as he calls them, Abdulhamid provides a way for
readers to better understand the darker sides of life, while providing
catharsis from the pain.”
--Kate Seelye: Sr. Vice President, Middle East Institute.
“Inspiring, even
mind-bending, and thoroughly avant-garde, and that’s just in the first ten
pages. Ammar Abdulhamid is a writer of unparalleled scope and an activist
fueled by a passion for pursuing justice. This book is full of wisdom and
creativity; its author is one of the righteous among us, no doubt about it.”
--Scott Lasensky, co-author of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace and the
Peace Puzzle.
“Back in 2011, the
world forsook Ammar Abdulhamid and the peaceful uprising of the people of Syria.
Three years later, this veteran activist reflects with heart-wrenching charm
and wisdom on the losses as he searches for new hope and a way forward. Wit and
brevity disguise the hard lessons learned from the 21st century’s most tragic
revolution.”
--Roya Hakakian, Iranian-American poet, journalist and writer; author of
Journey from the Land of No.
"If you want to
understand what drove the Arab world to rise up against its leaders in 2011,
Ammar Abdulhamid’s work is a good place to start. He has always been well ahead
of the curve in understanding the region’s potential—and problems. This book
takes us deep into the soul of someone who helped pave the way to the
revolution in Syria; has felt and thought deeply about authoritarianism,
democracy, sectarianism, war, and peace; and paid a high personal price for his
beliefs."
-- Seth D. Kaplan, Professorial Lecturer, Paul H. Nitze School of
Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, and the
managing editor of the Fragile States Forum (www.fragilestates.org).
“A wise, challenging
and provocative collection of aphorisms and poetic reflections, Syrian writer
Ammar Abdulhamid could perhaps be a Khalil Gibran for the 21st century.”
-- Ken Ballen,
author of Terrorists in Love and President, Terror Free Tomorrow.