About Me

I am a progressive Arab nationalist who has been living and working in Britain for many years.

Although I may be as integrated into British society as any of the natives, I consider myself a foreigner, even if some Britons do not see me that way. This is just how things are: I do not feel British and, therefore, I am not.

This rather odd status has its advantages. As a foreigner who understands Britain and the British people inside out but whose Arab identity is rock solid, I can see in the British and in my own kith and kin what many Britons and Arabs cannot see in themselves, simply because they are part of the picture.

Temperamentally, I am apt to hold up a mirror to those who believe that the "other" is superior or inferior, or that the grass is greener on the other side, so that they can see the good, the bad and the ugly in themselves and understand that the other side may be more wretched than their own.

I, for one, always look in the mirror and am eventually grateful, if initially hurt, when others point out some painful truths.