A life full of dedication, integrity, and thought leadership
October 22, 2023
by Munif Atassi
Sobhi was born in Beirut in 1952 to the late Hajja Fawzia Hasan Al-Mokaddem and Mohammad Ghandour. He became a leader of Arabist thought from a very young age and remained steadfast throughout his life in his dedication to Arab culture, identity, and unity.
He was deeply influenced by the theory of the Arab Revolution by the great thinker Dr. Ismat Seif al-Dawla. While he was still a young student at the Teachers’ School in Lebanon, he issued an intellectual pamphlet called The Revolution to disseminate the ideas.
Sobhi joined the Nasserist organization The Union of Working People’s Forces at a young age, quickly working his way up to becoming a supervisor of the National Youth Union, an institution of the Lebanese Popular Congress. He published Al-Mawqif Magazine, taking it from a simple bulletin to a licensed weekly full-color magazine that covered intellectual, political, and social issues. As Director and Editor-in-Chief, Sobhi trained many journalists and media figures who went on to important positions in media outlets throughout the Arab world and beyond. Sobhi was also a member of the Lebanese Editors Association.
After the brutal Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and growing sectarian divisions within the country, Sobhi felt that he could contribute better by moving to the United States and establishing media outlets to help balance out Western coverage of the Middle East. In 1984, he helped found Al-Etidal Newspaper in New Jersey, which the late Syrian businessman, Abdullah Tahan, had been planning to publish for some time. Later in 1984, he moved to Michigan to help establish Sada Al-Watan newspaper, the first weekly Arabic newspaper published in both Arabic and English and distributed across North America, with funding from Lebanese engineer Osama Al-Siblini.
After a brief return to Lebanon, Sobhi moved to Washington, D.C. in 1987, to become the Washington Bureau Chief of the London-based Al-Hawadith Magazine which had recently been purchased by (the late) Melhem Karam.
In the spring of 1989, Sobhi and his wife, Laura, established Al-Hewar Magazine and The Arab-American Dialogue, which was published monthly in both Arabic and English as an intellectual outlet and dialogue forum for all Arabs. The magazine covered a wealth of topics and research throughout its decades of publication.
In the fifth year of publishing Al-Hewar Magazine, and after years of convening meetings with intellectual, political, scientific, religious, artistic, and literary figures, Sobhi launched Al-Hewar Center to be a place for Arabs, Arab-Americans, and mainstream Americans to meet regularly for respectful, open dialogue about a myriad of topics affecting the Arab community and the Arab World. In 2017, the meetings were moved on-line so that a greater number of people from around the world could participate in the dialogue. These meetings were recorded and can be found on YouTube. Al-Hewar Center’s respectful style of dialogue has been shared around the Arab world, leading to greater and more effective consensus building and communication.
In addition to running Al-Hewar Center, Sobhi was a constant media presence, publishing regular articles and giving interviews on television and on Arab and international radio programs. He was objective in his dialogues and discussions, a fierce defender of Arab culture and identity, and an objective critic of Western and Middle Eastern political trends. He continued working during his illness, despite the pain, up until his last days. You can read his articles and find recordings of Al-Hewar meetings on his website.
Sobhi worked tirelessly for Arab causes and was a true advocate for the Palestinians. He worked to solve problems with generosity and benevolence despite his limited means, and with dedication to giving for the sake of the homeland and the nation, often at the expense of his person and personal comfort. He was distinguished by his intellect, sociability, generosity, charming sense of humor, humility, and care for his family, friends, and acquaintances.
Sobhi Ghandour was an institution in his own right. He was an extraordinary a person who dedicated himself to public service throughout his lifetime, carrying himself with dignity and pride. He will be greatly missed by all.
He was deeply influenced by the theory of the Arab Revolution by the great thinker Dr. Ismat Seif al-Dawla. While he was still a young student at the Teachers’ School in Lebanon, he issued an intellectual pamphlet called The Revolution to disseminate the ideas.
Sobhi joined the Nasserist organization The Union of Working People’s Forces at a young age, quickly working his way up to becoming a supervisor of the National Youth Union, an institution of the Lebanese Popular Congress. He published Al-Mawqif Magazine, taking it from a simple bulletin to a licensed weekly full-color magazine that covered intellectual, political, and social issues. As Director and Editor-in-Chief, Sobhi trained many journalists and media figures who went on to important positions in media outlets throughout the Arab world and beyond. Sobhi was also a member of the Lebanese Editors Association.
After the brutal Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and growing sectarian divisions within the country, Sobhi felt that he could contribute better by moving to the United States and establishing media outlets to help balance out Western coverage of the Middle East. In 1984, he helped found Al-Etidal Newspaper in New Jersey, which the late Syrian businessman, Abdullah Tahan, had been planning to publish for some time. Later in 1984, he moved to Michigan to help establish Sada Al-Watan newspaper, the first weekly Arabic newspaper published in both Arabic and English and distributed across North America, with funding from Lebanese engineer Osama Al-Siblini.
After a brief return to Lebanon, Sobhi moved to Washington, D.C. in 1987, to become the Washington Bureau Chief of the London-based Al-Hawadith Magazine which had recently been purchased by (the late) Melhem Karam.
In the spring of 1989, Sobhi and his wife, Laura, established Al-Hewar Magazine and The Arab-American Dialogue, which was published monthly in both Arabic and English as an intellectual outlet and dialogue forum for all Arabs. The magazine covered a wealth of topics and research throughout its decades of publication.
In the fifth year of publishing Al-Hewar Magazine, and after years of convening meetings with intellectual, political, scientific, religious, artistic, and literary figures, Sobhi launched Al-Hewar Center to be a place for Arabs, Arab-Americans, and mainstream Americans to meet regularly for respectful, open dialogue about a myriad of topics affecting the Arab community and the Arab World. In 2017, the meetings were moved on-line so that a greater number of people from around the world could participate in the dialogue. These meetings were recorded and can be found on YouTube. Al-Hewar Center’s respectful style of dialogue has been shared around the Arab world, leading to greater and more effective consensus building and communication.
In addition to running Al-Hewar Center, Sobhi was a constant media presence, publishing regular articles and giving interviews on television and on Arab and international radio programs. He was objective in his dialogues and discussions, a fierce defender of Arab culture and identity, and an objective critic of Western and Middle Eastern political trends. He continued working during his illness, despite the pain, up until his last days. You can read his articles and find recordings of Al-Hewar meetings on his website.
Sobhi worked tirelessly for Arab causes and was a true advocate for the Palestinians. He worked to solve problems with generosity and benevolence despite his limited means, and with dedication to giving for the sake of the homeland and the nation, often at the expense of his person and personal comfort. He was distinguished by his intellect, sociability, generosity, charming sense of humor, humility, and care for his family, friends, and acquaintances.
Sobhi Ghandour was an institution in his own right. He was an extraordinary a person who dedicated himself to public service throughout his lifetime, carrying himself with dignity and pride. He will be greatly missed by all.