Author: Ammar

A Syrian dreamer & dissident, not necessarily in that order.

Syria’s Democracy Activist on Moving Toward Peaceful Revolutions

By Anna Skibinsky, Epoch Times Staff

WASHINGTON—Ammar Abdulhamid’s views on modernizing Syria sound more like revolutionary solutions for most of the Arab world. Not surprisingly then, the activist, democracy spokesperson, and scholar hasn’t been allowed in his home country of Syria since 2005. Continue reading “Syria’s Democracy Activist on Moving Toward Peaceful Revolutions” →

First Step, Series Conclusion: A call for democratic change in Syria!

The following is the summary provided at the end of the 6th Episode of First Step, a reportage program produced by the Tharwa Foundation in 2009 to promote the cause of peaceful democratic change in Syria. I conceived the show after reviewing the YouTube videos prepared by our in-country activists showing the daily realities that people in Syria have to content with. the videos justified my faith in the possibility and necessity of the revolution, and that helped ut this summary together. The real heroes, of course, are the activists who risked their freedom and their lives to provide the videos.  Continue reading “First Step, Series Conclusion: A call for democratic change in Syria!” →

Causality and Meaning

  1. Nothing happens for a reason. There’s no reason for sunrise or nightfall, no reason for life or dying. There’s only what we do, regardless. 7:57 PM Jun 30th
  2. Causality is not teleology. The cause of an event provides no “meaning” for it: that’s our job. The search for meaning is a human vocation. 1:23 PM Jul 1st
  3. As is the case with hope (with anything really), the need for meaning is not necessarily conducive to it, nor is it a sign of its existence. 1:45 PM Jul 1st
  4. While we agonize over material things, the main theme for our suffering relates more to the unfulfillability of most our non-material needs. 1:53 PM Jul 1st
  5. For the greater good, we are often urged to put up with the lesser evil, until we drown in a flood of if. All evils are essentially equal. 3:34 AM Jul 16th
  6. There are no lesser evils, just shifting priorities, diverging interests and balances of power. 7:32 PM Jul 16th
  7. Your “greater good” suffocates me. Your “lesser evil” poisons me. Why does all that you do hurt me? Maybe you’re not really listening to me? 5:09 AM Jul 18th
  8. The most difficult choices we face are about the quality of our life, not life and death. But there are times when all choices are the same. 6:52 PM Jul 20th

Their Audacity to Hope

Brave individuals who challenge the status quo in authoritarian societies—and expect our support

Mention in the Wall Street Journal

Mr. Muravchik might have said more about why Western states should support liberals, in all their vulnerability. Take the Syrian dissident Ammar Abdulhamid. Audacious and articulate, Mr. Abdulhamid abandoned a life of privilege in Syria (he is the son of a famous actress) and chose exile in the U.S. so that he could give full force to his criticism of the Assad regime. Yet like many of those described by Mr. Muravchik, he has committed himself to a liberal ideal, and sacrificed a great deal, in return for very little so far. When Western governments revert to so-called reasons of state — where “realism” and supposed self-interest often triumphs — Middle Eastern liberals become a vanguard easily discarded.