Ahmed Albasheer (; born 17 October 1984) is an Iraqi comedian, journalist, and director, best known as the creator and host of the weekly political satire show '' Albasheer Show''. He was named one of the twenty most influential people in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

by the Global Influence Research Centre.

Early life

Albasheer was born and raised in

Ramadi Ramadi ( ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate which shares borders with Syri ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, He lost several family members during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, including his brother and father, and was himself kidnapped and tortured by a militia in 2005. Albasheer trained as a journalist at

Nahrain University Nahrain University (Arabic: جامعة النهرين), also known as Al-Nahrain University, is a coeducational public university established in 1987 and located in Baghdad, Iraq. The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate education as ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and went on to work for state-owned Iraqi television.

Career

Until 2011, Albasheer worked for eight years as a political correspondent for Iraq's state-run news channels. In 2012, after moving to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, Albasheer established his own media production company, Lagash, which in 2014 began broadcasting his eponymous show, ''Albasheer Show''. Heavily influenced by

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...

, who hosted the American political satire show ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'' from 1999 until 2015, the show satirised Iraqi politics, including ongoing corruption, sectarianism, extremism and terrorism. By 2015, the show had attained an audience of 19 million, over half of Iraq's total population. The show has changed channels multiple times since its premiere due to threats from the

Iraqi Communications and Media Commission The Communications and Media Commission (CMC; ) is a financially and administratively independent government agency established in 2004 to monitor media and communications in Iraq. CMC is attached to the Council of Representatives (Iraq), Council ...

, and is currently broadcast from outside of Iraq on

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

's Arabic channel, in addition to on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, where the show has amassed over five million subscribers as of 2021. ''Albasheer Show'' has been cited as playing an integral role in the ongoing anti-government

2019–2021 Iraqi protests A series of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and civil disobedience took place in Iraq from 2019 until 2021. It started on 1October 2019, a date which was set by civil activists on social media, spreading mainly over the central and southern ...

. In 2019, Albasheer received a

Maurice R. Greenberg Maurice Raymond “Hank” Greenberg (born May 4, 1925) is an American business executive and former chairman and chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG). Early life and education Greenberg was born into a Jewish family in ...

World Fellowship at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He appeared in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary series Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy in 2019. In 2020, Albasheer featured in the critically acclaimed documentary series ''

Once Upon a Time in Iraq ''Once Upon a Time in Iraq'' is a 2020 British documentary television miniseries directed by James Bluemel and narrated by the British-Iraqi actor Andy Serkis. Composed of five episodes, it features interviews with Iraqi citizens, American mil ...

''.

Personal life

In 2011, after being injured in a suicide bombing, Albasheer moved to

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan, where he resided until 2019.

References

External links

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Ahmed Albasheer
in

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basheer, Ahmad 1984 births Living people Iraqi comedians Iraqi television directors Iraqi mass media people People from Baghdad People from Ramadi Free speech activists Nahrain University alumni Yale University fellows