Osama Saeed

Osama Saeed is the head of international and media relations at the Al Jazeera satellite network. He is also a Scottish activist and commentator.

Background

Saeed was born and brought up in Glasgow. He is a prominent media figure in Scotland and has been listed as one of country’s Top 100 thinkers and opinion formers by the Scotsman newspaper, one of the country’s “Brightest and Best” by the Sunday Herald, and has been described as "Scotland’s most influential Muslim" by the Sunday Times. The Evening Times referred to him in 2010 as one of the SNP’s "bright rising stars". His blog, "Rolled up Trousers" was named top Scottish political blog in 2007. He is also an alumnus of the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. He was formerly employed as an adviser by Scotland's current First Minister Alex Salmond in the House of Commons.

Views and activities

Osama had an important role in the Stop the War Coalition, speaking at the antiwar demonstration on the eve of the Iraq war on 15 February 2003. He is one of the American Society for Muslim Advancement’s ‘Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow’ and was formerly a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain in Scotland. He has supported faith schools including Islamic schools. He wrote a 2005 article in The Guardian suggesting that the restoration of a Caliphate could be based on democracy and human rights in response to comments by prime minister Tony Blair saying that it was the preserve of Al Qaeda.

After the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, Saeed organised what is considered to be the first ever Muslim-organised demonstration against Al-Qaeda terrorism in the world. In March 2008, he called for legislation to be enacted against forced marriages, with the Scottish Government announcing a consultation with a view to legislation on the issue a few months later.

In 2009, Saeed organised the response to the far-right Scottish Defence League holding protests in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Along with lawyer Aamer Anwar, he brought together a broad coalition called Scotland United to stage a celebration of multiculturalism including the STUC, Church of Scotland, Equality and Human Rights Commission, all the major political parties and many others. He also organised a response to the attack by two Muslims youths on an Edinburgh synagogue by offering to protect the building.

In the 2010 General Election he stood as the SNP candidate for Glasgow Central. He finished in second place, improving the party’s third place from the previous election and increasing their share of the vote by 2.7%. His campaign concentrated on opposing public spending cuts proposed by the Conservative and Labour parties, connecting Scotland to the high speed rail network to London and Europe, and attracted high profile endorsements.

He has argued that an independent Scottish foreign policy based on peace-building would improve the country’s visibility across the world and help boost trade. He has also suggested that Scotland hold a 'Tartan Week' in the Middle East in order to increase trade and investment.

External links

• Rolled-up Trousers - Osama Saeed's weblog
• Osama Saeed on Twitter
• Osama Saeed on Facebook
• Scottish-Islamic Foundation
• Osama Saeed — a reluctant fundamentalist? - Article by The Times, June 22, 2008
• Commentry by Open Democracy's Tom Gallagher
• American Society for Muslim Advancement