PALO ALTO, California (Press Release)–Scholar and commentator Fouad Ajami lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, June 22, it was announced by John Raisian, director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University
“Fouad is truly one of the most brilliant Middle East scholars of our time,” said Raisian. “His Hoover Institution family will forever miss his superb scholarship, quick wit and gentle spirit. As we reflect upon a man whose life and intellectual contributions influenced so many, our thoughts and prayers go to his lovely wife, Michelle.”
Fouad Ajami was born September 18, 1945 in Arnoun, Lebanon. Ajami was a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, and more recently the Herbert and Jane Dwight Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-chair of the Hoover Institution’s Working Group on Islamism and the International Order. He is the author of The Arab Predicament; The Vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon; Beirut: City of Regrets; The Dream Palace of the Arabs; and The Foreigner’s Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq.
His most recent publication is The Syrian Rebellion (Hoover Institution Press, 2012). His writings also include some four hundred essays on Arab and Islamic politics, US foreign policy, and contemporary international history. Ajami has received numerous awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award for public service (2011), the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism (2011), the Bradley Prize (2006), the National Humanities Medal (2006), and the MacArthur Fellows Award (1982). His research has charted the road to 9/11, the Iraq war, and the US presence in the Arab-Islamic world.
In New York, Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, of Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations praised the late Fouad Ajami as “a great friend, courageous advocate and brilliant analyst. The passing yesterday of Dr. Ajami is a profound loss on many levels. I, like many others, was privileged to benefit from his insight and wisdom. He was a friend of Israel and the American Jewish community.”
“The clarity and depth of his understanding of events, particularly regarding the Middle East, enabled him to anticipate developments and to offer sound policy recommendations. He often went against conventional and politically correct thinking and ably stood his ground against detractors. His voice will be sorely missed by all who knew him, read his analysis, and those who value truth and integrity. We extend condolences to his family and myriad friends.”
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Preceding provided by the Hoover Institution and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.