Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud is a

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

i engineer, journalist and author. He previously served as editor-in-chief of The Peninsula and its

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

counterpart,

Al Sharq ''Al Sharq'' () is an Arabic pro-government daily newspaper published in Doha, Qatar. The paper is one of the three leading Arabic newspapers in the country in addition to '' Al Raya'' and '' Al Watan''. History and profile ''Al Sharq'' was laun ...

. As a writer, his debut novel '' Al Qursan'' experienced commercial success after its release in August 2011. The novel was translated into English under the title ''The Corsair'' one year later and went on to become one of the best-selling books to be released by a Qatari author.

Education

Al-Mahmoud graduated from

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York. Clarkson has additional graduate programs and research facilities in the New York Capital District. It was established in 1896 and enrolled over 4 ...

with a BA in engineering and later received a diploma in aviation and engineering from a university in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Career

Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud previously served as an engineer for the

Qatar Air Force The Qatar Emiri Air Force () (QEAF) is the air arm of the Qatar Armed Forces, armed forces of the state of Qatar. It was established in 1974 as a small aerial support wing, although in modern times it has evolved into a potent, well equipped for ...

. He also served as editor-in-chief of English daily The Peninsula. From 1998 to 2001 he was the editor-in-chief of its Arabic counterpart,

. He later worked as editor-in-chief of

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

's online website for five years. He was also a part of Al Jazeera's board of directors from 2007 to 2009. He helped relaunch the

Al Arab ''Al Arab'' () was the first Arabic daily following the independence of Qatar. It was printed between 1972 and 1995 and was relaunched on 18 November 2007 as an e-newspaper which is based in Doha, Qatar. History and profile ''Al Arab'' was est ...

newspaper's online website in 2008, and served as its editor-in-chief until November 2009.

Career as an author

Al-Mahmoud's debut novel was a naval history book entitled '' Al Qursan'', originally released in August 2011. The book's plot revolved around British politics and piracy in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

region during the 19th century, with the central figure being the Arab pirate

Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah Rahmah ibn Jabir ibn Adhbi al-Jalhami (; c. 1760–1826) was an Arab ruler in the Persian Gulf region and was described by his contemporary, the English traveler and author, James Silk Buckingham, as "the most successful and the most generally t ...

. The book went on to become one of the best-selling books of all time to be authored by a Qatari. He states that his interest in the Persian Gulf's naval history and the political ramifications of piracy began in 1996 when he discovered a library in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, UK containing old British manuscripts. A nineteenth-century book called ''Coast of Pirates'' ultimately prompted him to begin researching the Persian Gulf's history. He claims it took him approximately eleven months to write Al Qursan. Al-Mahmoud's second work, also a naval history novel, is entitled ''The Holy Sail''. It was published in November 2014. The novel is thematically romantic and the plot concerns a young woman who falls in love with an Arab tribal leader. Al-Mahmoud places on emphasis on equity and freedom in this novel. He was one of the two participants in Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation's first 'literary

majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

', held in March 2014.

References

. Qatar {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmoud, Abdulaziz Living people Qatari novelists Qatari journalists Qatari engineers Clarkson University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)