A Short Biography

A (Adel) S (Said) Bishtawi was Born in Nazareth, Palestine, on the 2 October 1945.

He read English Literature at Damascus University and Studied Linguistics at the Central London Polytechnic.

Started his journalistic career with the Syrian News Agency (Damascus).

In London he became Front Page Editor of Al Arab Newspaper, the first pan Arab Newspaper launched in Europe.

In 1978 he joined Mr Jihad Al Khazen in launching Asharq Al Awsat Newspaper (London) as Business and Supplements Editor.

In 1980 he was appointed Central Managing Editor of the Emirates News Agency in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

In 1988 he joined Mr Jamil Mrowa (who later relaunched the Daily Star in Beirut in 1996) in London for the re-launch of Al Hayat Newspaper and continued under the editorship of Mr. Jihad Al Khazen (and ownership of Prince Khaled Bin Sultan) as Business, Supplements and IT Editor.

He remained in that post until he left in April 2001 to dedicate his time to creative writing.

A Bishtawi was production assistant for a number of TV documentaries. He later produced, directed and wrote "Muslims along the Silk Road", a 5 part-60-minutes-each documentary tracing Muslim culture, heritage and legacy of Muslim pioneers and merchants along the Silk Road.

He hosted for TV and press interviews world political leaders, ministers, writers, businessmen, artists etc. including Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Afghanistan President Hafizullah Amin (shortly before his execution with members of his family at the start of the Russian invasion of his country), Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Muhammad, Pakistan President Mohammad Zial-ul-Haq, Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo, Austrian Chancellor Fred Sinowatz, Sheikh Issa Bin Salman Al Khalifa the Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani the Emir of Qatar, Saad AlAbdulla Al Sabah the Prime Minister of Kuwait and many others.

As author, his early published work included 5 anthologies of short stories and a novella.

The Andalusian Moriscos (History of the Moriscos after the Fall of Granada) was first published in Cairo in 1982. Two more editions were published in Damascus in 1985 and 1987.

His first novel Traces of a Tattoo was published in 1998 by The Arab Institute for Publication and Studies, Beirut, Lebanon and proclaimed by critics an "instant success" (Reviews).

The second novel Times of Death and Roses was published by The Arab Institute for Publication and Studies, Beirut, Lebanon in early 1999.

Gardens of Despair, his third novel, was published by The Arab Institute for Publication and Studies, Beirut, in late 2000 and released to the public in 2002.

The Martyrdom of the Andalusian Nation (Part I) was published by The Arab Institute for Publication and Studies in March 2001.

During 2001-2002 he co-authored A Thousand Miles in One Step, a book by HRH Prince Abdulla Bin Mosaad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, a grandson of the founder of Saudi Arabia. The book was published by the Arab Institute for Publication and Studies, Beirut, Lebanon. It is the first work ever to reveal the true circumstances of the death in 1975 of King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia as neither a conspiracy nor a plot of the state.

History of Injustice in the Arab World (2005/2006) was published by the Arab Institute for Publication and Studies, Beirut, Lebanon and launched at Sharjah World Book Fair in December 2005.

My Vision - Challenges in the Race for Excellence was co-authored with HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and launched on presentation of a copy by Sheikh Mohammed to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday 23 April 2006.

The writer has published hundreds of articles and interviews in Arabic and English. He appears regularly on TV shows, and he participates in conferences and seminars on history, literature, religion, economy and current affairs.

A Bishtawi is married with two sons - Sammy and Daniel and he is blessed with one of the greatest wives on Earth - Susan.