Riad Taha () (1927 – 23 July 1980) was a Lebanese

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

journalist and president of the Lebanese Publishers Association (). He was assassinated when gunmen opened fire on his car. Perpetrators were never caught, but it was widely suspected that the assassination was ordered by the Syrian Intelligence.Al Mustakbal: الاستخبارات - سورية في دائرة الاتهام منذ اغتيال المتني حتى تويني
He was the head of the Lebanese Publishers Association from 1967 until his murder.

Early life

Taha was born into a

family in Hermel,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, in 1927.

Career

Taha started as a journalist in the magazine ''At Talaeh'' () in 1945 when he was 18. He also worked in the newspaper ''An Nidal wad Dunia'' (). In 1947, aged 20, he established the weekly ''Akhbar al 'Aalam'' () (meaning the News of the World) and was in Palestine in 1948 to cover the war there. In 1949, he established in Lebanon the Orient News Agency (), one of the first ever privately owned Arab news agencies. In 1950, he started the publication ''Al Ahad'' magazine () (literally The Sunday). He was also editor of the magazine which opposed the

Baghdad Pact The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), formerly known as the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO) and also known as the Baghdad Pact, was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed on 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, ...

. Taha became an advocate of the Egyptian President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

during this period. In 1953, he launched the newspaper ''Al Bilad'' () (meaning The Country). In 1955, he founded the newspaper ''Al Kifah'' () (literally The Struggle) and his own publishing house called Dar al Kifah () that consolidated all his publishing activities. His also authored books including: *1950: ''Shafataan Bakheelataan'' () *1958: ''Fi Tareeq al Kifah'' () *1963: ''Filisteen al Yawm, La Ghadan'' () *1973: ''Al I'laam wal Ma'raka'' () *1974: ''Qissat al Wahda wal Infisal'' () He was elected head of the Lebanese Publishers Association, a post he would hold continuously until his assassination in 1980.

Assassination

Taha was killed in Beirut in July 1980. Although there have been rumors that Syrian intelligence killed him, there is also another report, stating that Taha was killed due to the feud between his family and another Shiite family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taha, Riad 1927 births 1980 deaths Assassinated Lebanese journalists 20th-century Lebanese journalists Assassinated Lebanese newspaper publishers (people) Lebanese newspaper publishers (people) Lebanese newspaper founders Lebanese Shia Muslims

Early life

Career

Assassination

See also

References