AustLit

'Sorry we have no space explores how an ‘average joe’ became ignited by his fury over war and death to become one of Australia’s most fearless independent newspaper columnists.

'But it all started by accident for this child of the cedars. Despite his limited fluency in Arabic after a stint as a street worker in Adelaide, he reluctantly accepted a job working with Arab immigrants and refugees in Melbourne’s outskirts. Just as he was abandoning this ‘dead end’ career, the 1991 Gulf War erupted and he found himself on the frontline of advocacy.

'From obscurity to notoriety, he was suddenly solicited by ASIO, beckoned by the Prime Minister, threatened by Islamophobes and ostracised by his ‘faithful flock.’ Ten years later in 2001, he was transferred to Sydney and the September 11 ‘war on terror’ catapulted him back to the same ‘dangerous intersection’ between community, media and politics.

'His personal war on ‘cancer cells’ became a metaphor that emboldened his public war on the causes of ‘terror cells’. Unfatigued by his widowhood, he returned to this same intersection a third time in 2011 during the ‘Arab Spring’.

'In each of these three milestone moments of history, he sharpened his pen as his sword against inflated stereotypes. While the script stayed the same in these theatres of war, the characters surrounding him kept changing, some slain on the front line of advocacy.

'As a compulsive wordsmith, he saw ‘sorry we have no space on our opinion page’ as a vocational calling. His provocative prose reads like chanting lyrics with an Arabian fragrance and a hint of alliteration addiction. As a Christian voice that was presumed Muslim, and a minority voice within a minority, he offers searing insights into the most volatile hot spots on the planet.

'Through his unique lens, his insights have shed light on monumental questions of our time: how far have western perceptions of ‘the other’ evolved? Have lessons been learned or is history repeating itself?

'Over 500 opinion pieces later, this inspirational story of how and why this ‘average joe’ became a self-made columnist and a ‘go to’ voice for the voiceless smashes every Arab stereotype.' (Publication summary)