Abdul Aziz Said

Abdul Aziz Said (September 1, 1930 – January 22, 2021) was Professor Emeritus of International Relations in the School of International Service at American University, Washington, D.C. He was the founding Director of the university's International Peace and Conflict Resolution program. Said was viewed as a trailblazer in his field. Well known for shifting the focus of International Relations theory from real politic-based on the concept that the law of power governs states, to new world order theories based on cooperation and common security. Starting in the late 1980s Said increasingly focused his work on human rights, conflict resolution, and later explored the relationship between spirituality and religion in international politics.

Dr. Said was the first occupant of the Mohamed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace and Director Emeritus and Founder of the Center for Global Peace. AU called him its “Living Legend of Peace” and he was referred to as "a singular institution promoting peace" by the Washington Post Magazine. As an advisor to nongovernmental organizations and governments, Said actively engaged in many conflict resolution efforts, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the Iraqi conflict.

Background

Early years

Abdul Aziz Said Ishaq was born in Amuda, Syria in 1930 to Said Ishaq and Shemsa Khacho. Said Ishaq, a Syriac Orthodox Christian, was a businessman, landowner, and political leader who served in the Syrian Parliament for nearly 30 years. Said's childhood was characterized by upheaval and violence due to the Syrian struggle against French colonialism and World War II. His family was forced to flee to Damascus in 1936 when Amuda was burned to the ground and two years later was relocated by French authorities to Aleppo, Syria. When he was nine years old, Said's three-year-old brother, Riyad, was killed by a French military truck and he carried the dying toddler home. This and other experiences left Said with a lifelong revulsion of war and later his professional commitment to nonviolence. His mother died later that year, and his father was exiled by the French due to his affiliation with the Syrian Nationalist movement. Said and his five siblings were left under the care of his paternal grandmother, and he had vivid recollections of constant bombing in Aleppo during this period as British forces attempted to dislodge the Vichy French during World War II. He was known for his participatory and motivational teaching style, believing that the relationship between student and teacher is best when the roles of teacher and student are repeatedly reversed. This would encourage students to see learning as a lifelong journey, teaching them how to think rather than what to think. During his tenure Said was the recipient of more than a dozen awards for outstanding teaching and university service. Former student Dr. Sheherazade Jafari observed "the passion and commitment he brought to his students year after year, and the way he'd treat everyone with such dignity and respect, recognizing their full humanity-was the greatest education I received."

During his career, Dr. Said authored 23 books and over 400 papers. He founded and directed 15 centers and institutions at AU and secured three endowed chairs for the university in Islamic Studies, Kurdish Studies, and Islamic Peace. The International Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) graduate program that he founded in 1996 is one of AU School for International Studies' largest programs and is among the top-ranked IPCR programs in the U.S. and received the International Studies Association's Distinguished Scholar Award in Peace Studies in 2014. In recognition of his efforts, he was awarded the Phi Epsilon Pi "Living Legend" award in 2004. Much later he was asked to give a campus-wide teach in immediately after the 9/11 attacks to reassure students. Nearly two decades ahead of the field's expansion toward postpositivist and other approaches, Said introduced considerations on ethics and morality, non-Western viewpoints, and a more humanistic world order. His textbook Concepts of International Politics, co-authored with Charles Lerche, Jr. in 1963 (first edition), details how collective moral judgments should guide foreign policy as well as how international actors have the responsibility to address internal dynamics rather than simply respond to external stimuli. Said also advocated a cooperative model of global politics and argued the U.S. must play a vital role in building trust within international relationships by encouraging "confidence in other nations to adopt institutions that authentically represent and give voice to their peoples - not because of American coercion but because of the intrinsic merit and legitimacy of the institutions themselves."

Long before these themes became mainstream within IR, Professor Said was writing about the impacts of identity, culture, ethnicity, religion and the experiences of postcolonial actors. and used this as a guide when writing about and advising on U.S. foreign policy.

Human Rights and Development

Dr. Said's teachings on development and democracy were inexplicably connected to human rights. He specifically critiqued the way that Western conceptions of human rights overlook the critical role of culture in recognizing human dignity within diverse contexts. Professor Said rejected traditional theories that view peace and human rights as related but distinct issues, and instead highlighted their interconnection.

Peace and Conflict Resolution

Said was also a leading scholar of peace and conflict resolution (PCR). In 1996, Professor Said established one of the first graduate programs in international peace and conflict resolution in the U.S. at American University, despite push-back from advocates of a strictly realpolitik view of international relations. He instead offered a deeper understanding of the contemporary Middle East and Africa, advocating for the pursuit of human rights across the region and a cooperative security that is locally curated rather than imposed from the outside. He asserted that the Middle East and Africa must pursue development and democracy through their own traditions and be built through local participation. Said detailed a cooperative conflict resolution strategy that abandons a competitive perspective, highlighting underlying shared needs and goals.

Islam

At a time when fear-based generalizations shaped the mainstream perspective of Islam, Professor Said was committed to articulating a more expansive understanding of the religion. His writings shed light on the culturally rooted frameworks that helped shape Islamic politics. Focused on approaches that uplift locally respected Islamic values, Said argued that "the exclusion of the people of the Middle East from active participation in political life undermines stability in the region. The reconciliation between Islam and democracy is a crucial first step toward stable progress."

Dr. Said outlined an Islamic framework that reflects historic Islamic values of peace and justice in a vision for the future. He explained how Islam centers human rights around the community structure, which differs from the traditional Western focus on individualism. Dr. Said's contributions in defining Islamic precepts and practices provide guidance for contemporary Islamic peacemaking, distinguishing an Islamic framework from traditional Western secular approaches.

Spirituality

Said was interested in studying the links between spirituality and global politics, a significant departure from mainstream theories of international politics. He explained that politics are "inherently spiritual because our public life reflects our social values."

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Professor Said's personal interest in the practice of Sufism later played an integral role in his approach to politics and his teachings. Despite its Islamic roots, Sufism is not a specific doctrine but affirms that one's inner spiritual path is linked to our role in society. Said was attracted to the idea that Sufism upholds the concept of unity without denying differences, explaining that Sufism includes "a respect for cultural pluralism that is inextricably linked to a recognition of the fundamental solidarity and connectedness of all human beings."

Diplomatic and Public Service

Track II Diplomacy

In addition to his academic career, Professor Said engaged in Track II diplomacy and served as an advisor to U.S. and foreign government officials as well as international organizations. He traveled for an advised the U.S. State and Defense departments and engaged in conflict resolution efforts on behalf of the U.S. and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Professor Said was one of the early participants of U.S. public diplomacy efforts through the U.S. government's various iterations of public diplomacy: The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (BECA), the United States Information Services (USIS), and the United States Information Agency (USIA) for over 30 years. In the early 1960s, Said became known to the U.S. State Department through his lectures at U.S. military academies and at the Defense Department. In 1964, the State Department sent him on his first official lecture tour to five Arab and three African countries where he spoke on U.S. foreign policy and U.S. domestic politics. Being a naturalized U.S. citizen, the U.S. government viewed Said as an especially effective speaker because he represented the “successful immigrant” story, embodying the American Dream.

Foreign Service Institute, Status of Lecturer
Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, George W. Bush Administration, Advisor

Defense, Lecturer

Army Infantry Academy, Fort Benning
Army Sergeant Academy, Fort Bliss
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
US Marine Corps and Command Academy and Staff College
US Air Force Academy
US Coast Guard Academy
US Naval War College
West Point Military Academy
US Information Agency (USIA), “Speaker and Specialist Program,” Lecturer throughout the Middle East and Persian Gulf, Europe, Latin and South America, North, East, and Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia (1964-1999)

White House

“Committee on the Islamic World,” Member, President Jimmy Carter Administration
Executive Office of the President, National Security Council, “Islam and US Foreign Policy,” Presenter, President Bill Clinton Administration
White House Annual Conference on Children and Youth, “Youth and Bureaucracy,” Presenter, President Richard Nixon Administration

International Public Service

Arab-Israeli Peace Dialogues (various Tunis, US, Austria, Jordan), Participant
Omani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Institute, Committee Member

United Nations

Development Programme, Consultant
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Consultant

University Service

Committee on Academic Development, Chair
Faculty Relations Committee of the American University, Member and Chair
Library Committee of the American University, Chair
Presidential Search Committee of The American University, Member
School of International Service Term Faculty Action Committee, Member and Chair
School of International Service, International Relations Sub-Faculty, Chair
School of International Service, President of Faculty
School of International Service, Rank and Tenure Committee, Member and Chair
The American University Faculty Senate, Member and Chair
The American University, The Scholar Diplomat Program, Moderator
University Admissions Committee, Member and Chair
Various School of International Service Faculty Search Committees, Chair

Programmatic Contributions

Contributions include developing the following educational, research and outreach programs and activities:

AU Center for Global Peace
Center for Cooperative Global Development
Center for Mediterranean Studies
Community for Social Change and Political Participation in the Middle East and Africa
Consortium PhD in Islamic Studies, greater Washington consortium
Creative Peacebuilding Initiatives
International Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
Project PEN: Peace and Conflict Resolution Education for Public School Students in Washington, DC
Islamic Peace Studies
Mohamed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace
Summer Institute for Teachers: Education for Global Citizenship
Washington Semester in International Peace and Conflict Resolution
Washington Semester in Islam and World Affairs
Washington Semester in Foreign Policy

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

Awards

Delta Phi Epsilon Pi, “Award for Service and Excellence”
“El-Hibri Peace Education Prize,” First Recipient (2007)
The Inter-American Defense College, “Diploma Honoris Causa” Continental Defense
International Political Science Association, “Teh-Kuang Chang Award for Outstanding Scholar on Asian and Pacific Studies Award” (2018)
International Studies Association, “Distinguished Scholar of Peace Studies Award”
The Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, Fourth Annual “Fellowship of Peace Award” (2007)
Mortar Board, “Outstanding Faculty Award”
The National Endowment for Democracy, Grantee
Phi Epsilon Pi National Jewish Fraternity, “Living Legend Award” (2004)
Search for Common Ground, “Certificate of Appreciation for Extraordinary Service”
The Rockefeller Foundation, Grantee
The United States Institute of Peace, Grantee
United States House of Representatives, “House Speaking Series Award”
Young Presidents’ Organization, Named among the “Top 200 YPO Lecturers Internationally”
Who's Who in America, 43rd Edition, Listed

Scholarships and Named Funds

Abdul Aziz Said Chair in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, American University
Abdul Aziz Said Graduate Scholarship in Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies, American University
Abdul Aziz Said Peace and Conflict Resolution Fund, American University
Abdul Aziz Said Phi Epsilon Pi Scholarship, American University

American University Awards

African Students’ Association Award
“Darrell Randall Award for Outstanding Service to the University”
Distinguished Service in the School of International Service: 1957-2015 (2015)
Distinguished Service to the University, College of Public Affairs
Faculty Excellence Award
Golden Eagles Reunion, Honorary Chairman (2009)
Graduate Student Association, “Outstanding Service Award”
Honors Program, Honors Professor of the Year (2007-2008)
Outstanding Contribution to Academic Development
Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Professional Contributions (2009)
Office of Multicultural Affairs, “Multicultural Award”
School of International Service Fall Annual Dinner, Honoree (2006)
University Faculty Outstanding Service
Washington Semester Program, “Best Speaker Award”

Selected works

Minding the Heart, Forthcoming.
Said, Abdul Aziz; "Localizing Peace: An Agenda for Sustainable Peacemaking," (co-authored with Nathan Funk), Peace and Conflict Studies, Spring 2010, 17.1.
Said, Abdul Aziz; Peace as a Human Right: Towards an Integrated Understanding, (co-authored with Charles Lerche) in Human Rights and Conflict: Exploring the Links Between Rights, Law, and Peacebuilding (Eds.) Julie Mertus and Jeffrey W. Helsing, United States Institute of Peace, December 2006.
Said, Abdul Aziz; Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static, co-edited with Meena Sharify-Funk and Mohammed Abu-Nimer, 2006.
Said, Abdul Aziz; Bridges, Not Barriers, Essays on Exploring a Global Dream, The Fetzer Institute, Summer 2006, Essay Number 1.
Said, Abdul Aziz; The World of Islam, with Abdul Karim Bangura. Pearson Custom Publishing, 2004.
Said, Abdul Aziz; "Vision 20/20: Future of the Middle East," editor, Search for Common Ground, 2001.
Said, Abdul Aziz; Protagonists of Change: Subcultures in Development and Revolution, ed., Spectrum Books, Prentice-Hall, 1971.

External links

Professor Abdul Aziz Said
Professor Abdul Aziz Said Legacy Channel