Mehdi Hasan

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Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi Hasan (born 10 July 1979) is a British journalist, author, and podcast host. He regularly contributes to The Intercept,[1] Al Jazeera English,[2] and The Guardian,[3]

Career

Mehdi Hasan began his career working for various British news outlets before becoming the senior politics editor at the New Statesman between 2009 and 2012.[4]

Before his current positions at Al Jazeera English and the Intercept, Hasan was the political director of Huffington Post UK[5]

Hasan's Head to Head series for Al Jazeera English consists of long-form interviews where Hasan delves into "the big issues of our time"[6] with guests such as former Blackwater CEO and founder Eric Prince, prominent atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and many others. Topics discussed include, among others, economics, feminism, foreign policy, human rights, religion and terrorism.[7]

In 2014, he moved to Washington D.C. in preparation for Al Jazeera's show Upfront, which began in 2015.[8]

His Intercept-affiliated podcast, Deconstructed, first aired on March 23, 2018. Its self-described aim is to cut "through all the political drivel and media misinformation to give you a straight take on one big news story of the week."[9]

News and Controversy

After a March 2019 white supremacist terror attack killed over 50 Muslim worshipers at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Hasan appeared on a Cable News Network (CNN) panel debating U.S. President Trump's role in inspiring White Nationalist Terrorism.[10]

In a November 2018 tweet, Hasan shared a video of himself questioning Trump 2020 campaign adviser Steven Rodgers with the caption "Hey US media folks, here, I would argue immodestly, is how you interview a Trump supporter on Trump's lies:"[11] The video garnered immense popularity on Twitter, receiving over 185,000 "likes".

In a May 2013 piece, Hasan apologized for his past beliefs about homosexuality, saying "I’m a progressive who supports a secular society in which you don’t impose your faith on others... but I am also (to Richard Dawkins’s continuing disappointment) a believing Muslim. And, as a result, I really do struggle with this issue of homosexuality. As a supporter of secularism, I am willing to accept same-sex weddings in a state-sanctioned register office, on grounds of equity. As a believer in Islam, however, I insist that no mosque be forced to hold one against its wishes."[12]

Books

Contact and Social Media

  • Email: mehdi.hasan@theintercept.com
  • Mehdi Hasan on Facebook
  • Mehdi Hasan on Twitter

External Links

Podcasts

Deconstructed has featured many prominent guests, including several Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls, such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and Julian Castro as well as rising progressive stars Ihlan Omar and Rashida Tlaib and anti-establishment heroes Cornell West and Edward Snowden.

2019

2018

Written Articles

Hasan's articles for The Intercept and The Guardian have discussed a wide variety of topics: from internal conflict within the Democratic Party to 2020 electoral politics to racism and xenophobia to criticism of the U.S.'s close relationship with Israel and Saudi Arabia.

2019

2018

2017

Other articles & commentary

References

  1. Mehdi Hassan, "Intercept", accessed August 22, 2019.
  2. Mehdi Hasan, "Al Jazeera English", accessed August 22, 2019.
  3. Mehdi Hasan, "Guardian", accessed August 22, 2019.
  4. Mehdi Hasan, "New Statesman", accessed August 22, 2019.
  5. Mehdi Hasan, "Huffington Post UK", accessed August 22, 2019.
  6. Head to Head | Interviews with Attitude, "Youtube", accessed August 22, 2019.
  7. Head to Head, "Al Jazeera English", accessed August 22, 2019.
  8. Mehdi Hasan to host new weekly show on Al Jazeera, "Al Jazeera English", accessed August 22,2019.
  9. Deconstructed, "Intercept", accessed August 22, 2019.
  10. Mehdi Hasan debates trump's role on white nationalist terrorism on CNN after new zealand attck, "Youtube", accessed August 22, 2019.
  11. Mehdi Hasan 1062706401804455937, "Twitter", accessed August 22, 2019.
  12. Mehdi Hasan As a Muslim, I struggle with the idea of homosexuality – but I oppose homophobia, "New Statesman America", accessed August 22, 2019.