Amal Al Khedairy
Encyclopedia
Amal Al Khedairy is an Iraqi
academic, writer
, lecturer
, scholar, art historian and founder and director of the cultural centre "Al Beit Al Iraqi" ("The Iraqi House") in Baghdad. The centre would host many exhibitions of the work of Iraqi artists, as well as concerts and lectures; being the only institution of its kind in Baghdad to do so during the 90's.
, Syria
to a Syrian mother and well-known Iraqi
father, Yasseen Al Khedairy, whose family has deep roots in Iraq
since the 15th century. Her father's family are connected to the Shammar
tribe who originated from Najd
in the Arabian Peninsula
. They later settled in the old quarter of Baghdad, close to the Gailani Mosque in the Bab Al Sheikh district, where her father would build a home later to become Amal's "Al Beit Al Iraqi" in 1988; which was destroyed in a bombing by the American forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq
on April 4, 2003.
Fluent in Arabic, English
and French
, with conversational Turkish
and Spanish
, Khedairy has been a lecturer at
both the University of Baghdad
and the American University of Beirut
.
Iraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
academic, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
, scholar, art historian and founder and director of the cultural centre "Al Beit Al Iraqi" ("The Iraqi House") in Baghdad. The centre would host many exhibitions of the work of Iraqi artists, as well as concerts and lectures; being the only institution of its kind in Baghdad to do so during the 90's.
Early life and career
Born in DamascusDamascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to a Syrian mother and well-known Iraqi
Iraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
father, Yasseen Al Khedairy, whose family has deep roots in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
since the 15th century. Her father's family are connected to the Shammar
Shammar
The tribe of Shammar is one of the largest tribes of Nejd-Saudi Arabia, with an estimated 1 million in Iraq, over 2.5 million in Saudi Arabia , a Kuwaiti population of around 100,000, a Syrian population is thought to exceed 1 million and with an unknown number in Jordan...
tribe who originated from Najd
Najd
Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...
in the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. They later settled in the old quarter of Baghdad, close to the Gailani Mosque in the Bab Al Sheikh district, where her father would build a home later to become Amal's "Al Beit Al Iraqi" in 1988; which was destroyed in a bombing by the American forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
on April 4, 2003.
Fluent in Arabic, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, with conversational Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Khedairy has been a lecturer at
both the University of Baghdad
University of Baghdad
The University of Baghdad is the largest university in Iraq and the second largest Arab university following the University of Cairo.- Nomenclature :Both University of Baghdad and Baghdad University are used interchangeably....
and the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
.