Ahmed Albasheer (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

: أحمد البشير; 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 ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

by the Global Influence Research Centre.

Early life

Albasheer was born and raised in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, He lost several family members during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

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

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 ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

, 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, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...

, who hosted the American political satire show ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...

'' 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, and is currently broadcast from outside of Iraq on Deutsche Welle's Arabic channel, in addition to on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

, 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. 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 Greenberg was born into a Jewish family in Greenwich Vil ...

World Fellowship at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He appeared in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

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''.

Personal life

In 2011, after being injured in a suicide bombing, Albasheer moved to Amman, Jordan, where he resided until 2019.

References

External links

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Ahmed Albasheer
in

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albasheer, Ahmad 1984 births Living people Iraqi comedians Iraqi television directors Iraqi mass media people People from Baghdad People from Ramadi Free speech activists