About Inside Arabia

About Us

Inside Arabia provides in-depth news and analysis of the Middle East and North Africa

In an era of “fake news” and misinformation, the founders of Inside Arabia recognized that there was a profound lack of accurate online and print coverage of the Middle East and North Africa, in English, for audiences in the U.S.  This contributed to significant misunderstanding of the region, its people, and its issues.  Jordanian-American Founder and CEO Saeb Sakkijha decided to launch a new publication to help Americans understand the events happening in the MENA region and begin to build bridges of understanding to promote peace and tolerance. And so, in March, 2018, Inside Arabia was born. On Friday July 13, 2018, we launched our website.

Our dedicated team includes Americans, Arab-Americans, and other experts with deep experience and/or roots in the MENA region.  We are knowledgeable about the history, language, culture, and customs.  We give a voice to its people by going to the source.  Our mission is to bring the truth to the American public, objectively and impartially, based on a deep understanding of the region.

Through our three flagships, Inside Arabia Online, Inside Arabia Forum, and Inside Arabia Magazine, and powered by our strong presence on social media, we are committed to dispelling myths, counteracting stereotypes, and championing the truth.

Inside Arabia is poised to become the leading source of credible information and analysis about the MENA region and a reference point for researchers who want to understand the past, present, and future of the Middle East and North Africa. By getting inside the Arab mind, we provide in-depth analysis of this important and dynamically changing region.

Editorial Team

Inside Arabia is governed by a Board of Directors and run by a professional editorial staff of individuals passionate about its mission:

Saeb Sakkijha
President, Board of Directors & CEO
Saeb Sakkijha is the President and CEO of Inside Arabia. Born in Jordan and having grown up in the United States, he is a Jordanian-American businessman with strong roots in the Middle East. He founded Inside Arabia in March 2018 to provide accurate information, news, and analysis about the MENA region in order to build bridges of understanding between Americans and the people of the region.
Haneen Khirfan
Treasurer/ Project manager
Haneen Khirfan has an M.A in English Language and Literature from the University of Jordan where she worked as a lecturer of English Literature. She also worked as a lecturer of English and Arabic at the State University of New York at Albany. Her research interests are Postcolonial Literature and Feminist theory.
Marwan Ahmed
Secretary / Board of directors
Marwan Ahmad is the founder and president of the Arab American Business Council in Washington DC since 2014. He is the President of Arabesque Media, a Virginia based marketing and corporate event planning company. Mr. Ahmad has a degree in Computer Information Systems and additional education in marketing, media production and non-profit management. He has been in the marketing, publishing and events organizing business since 1994. He served in 2008 as a trainer on a media training mission to Italy sponsored by the State Department touring four cities to speak, educate and train local ethnic media. Mr. Ahmad offers marketing and consulting services to businesses in the US as well as companies that do business in the Middle East.
Elisabeth R. Myers
Editor-in-Chief
Elisabeth Myers, an expert in communication and advocacy, takes up her post with a passion. Having grown up outside of the U.S., and with 40 years of exposure to the MENA region, Elisabeth has extensive knowledge of Middle East politics and culture. She has advised U.S. and Middle East-based organizations on doing business in the region, promoting development of leadership skills, and encouraging women’s entrepreneurship. With a background in journalism going back to her college days, she received a BA (summa cum laude) in English Literature from Hunter College of the City University of New York. Also a lawyer, she received her JD from the American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., where she is an adjunct Associate Professor of Law.
Wafa Faith Hallam
SENIOR EDITOR, COORDINATOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH
Born and raised in Morocco, Wafa Faith Hallam is a naturalized US citizen. Wafa lived and worked in Europe and traveled to over 35 countries before she moved to the US in 1980 to attend college. An Honor Graduate of the University of Florida (Phi Beta Kappa), she was awarded a series of Fellowships to attend New York University where she earned a Master's Degree in Middle Eastern Studies and International Affairs. She completed the PhD course work in Middle Eastern Studies, as well as comprehensive exams. She was granted a Dissertation Fellowship for her research on Political Violence and Terrorism in the MENA Region by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation in Manhattan. She remained committed to Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East and Arab-Muslim Issues even as she built a successful career on Wall Street for over a decade. In 2017 and 2018, she traveled alone to 15 new countries in South America, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. Wafa is a writer, editor, speaker and author of The Road from Morocco, a memoir. Her second book, A One-Way Ticket: One Woman’s Solo Journey to Wonder and Wholeness in South America is due out in 2019.

Contributions

Inside Arabia welcomes contributions from those who seek to support ethical journalism and the quest for the truth. We are filing to be an IRC Section 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Once the application is on file with the IRS, contributions will be tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. Please visit our contributions portal.