ABDUL AZIZ SAID

1930 - 2021

SAID Dr. Abdul Aziz Said The world lost a tireless advocate of peace and justice on January 22, 2021. Dr. Abdul Aziz Said was an iconic presence at American University; Director Emeritus and Founder of the University's Center for Global Peace, Mohamad Said Farsi Chair Emeritus of Islamic Peace, and an inspiration and mentor to thousands of students, colleagues, and friends. As the longest-serving faculty member in American University's history and founder of AU's Peace and Conflict Resolution program, he helped redefine the meaning of "peace" in the context of international relations. Peace, he said, "is not only an absence of violence, but a presence of justice, a presence of equality, and a presence of cooperation." In a 2003 article on the controversy surrounding the Iraq War, The Washington Post Magazine called him a "singular institution ... promoting social justice and peace." He was also a legend on AU's campus. One of his students, Ambassador Mark Hambley, said that "his wavy hair and large mustache made him a dashing figure who appeared to many of us to be a cross between the actor Omar Sharif and the poet Khalil Ghibran." Dr. Said was born on September 1, 1930 to a Christian family in French-occupied Syria. His childhood was marked by conflict. His three-year-old younger brother died in his arms after being struck by a French military vehicle. He experienced both Axis and Allied bombing during World War II. And his father was exiled after helping lead an unsuccessful uprising against French rule. Dr. Said's plans to follow his father into politics were derailed by the instability and series of coups that afflicted Syria after it gained independence. Instead, he decided to focus on international relations and came to American University to study. He was shocked by the racial injustice of 1950s Washington, where he was considered "colored." His youthful experiences in Syria and Washington shaped Dr. Said's commitment to conflict resolution, cultural understanding, and fighting injustice. He began teaching at American University in 1956, where he earned his PhD in 1957 and was one of the original faculty members of the School for International Service. Over his six-decade career in academia, Dr. Said was a groundbreaking force in the field of peace studies. He developed over a dozen educational and research programs, authored or co-authored 25 books and over 100 other publications, and received countless awards. He was an academic pioneer in ways big and small from placing morality and values, rather than narrow national interest and power, at the center of political analysis to winning CBS's Sylvania award for hosting one of the first college classes on live television in 1959. His career transcended academics as he put his ideas and values into practice. Over the years, Dr. Said served as an advisor to international organizations and governments, including the U.S. State Department, The United Nations, The White House, and UNESCO. He actively engaged in many conflict resolution projects ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the Iraq conflict to urban schools, and participated in demonstrations against violence and injustice around the world, including the 1963 March on Washington and protests against the Vietnam War and South African apartheid. For those who were lucky enough to know him, Dr. Said's personal presence, thoughtfulness, and kindness were as legendary as his professional accomplishments. He always had time - and a cup of tea or coffee - for someone who needed to talk. He was famous for bailing out students arrested at protests. He corrected slights against justice and dignity whenever he could. When he was told Jewish students were barred from joining American University's fraternities in the late 1950s, he - an Arab - helped students establish an AU chapter of Phi Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity, and served as its faculty advisor for over a decade. Of all his awards, he was most proud of the Living Legend Award he received from Phi Epsilon Pi in 2004. Although he retired from teaching in 2015, he remained active in the peace studies field, focusing on poverty as a global threat to peace, education and literacy as tools for advancing change and avoiding conflict, and the intersection of politics and spirituality and religion. In particular, he embraced Sufism as a spiritual framework that emphasizes wholeness, connectedness to nature, and unity beyond the boundaries of nation, religion, class, race, and gender. He evoked these themes in his writings and his teaching, and frequently affirmed the way spirituality can inspire people to pursue consensus on positive social values and motivate them to serve global visions of human dignity, identity, and purpose. His life's work will continue through the thousands of students and alumni he inspired and mentored over decades, and through the family he adored. Dr. Said is survived by his soulmate and wife of 43 years, Elena Marie Turner; his sons, Riyad (Madeleine) and Jamil Said; his siblings, brother, Bassam (Nadia) and sisters, Fadia, Najwa, Salwa, Mary, Basma, and Solayma Ishak; two brothers-in-law, Paul (Chehreh) Turner and Richard (Nazanin) Turner; two grandchildren; seven nieces and nephews; and his beloved dachshunds. A memorial mass service was held for Dr. Said on February 7 at St. George's Syriac Orthodox Church in Hassake, Syria. A Celebration of Life event will be held in Washington, DC at a later date. For information on memorial donations and a planned Celebration of Life event, please visit abdulazizsaidpeacefoundation.org. abdulazizsaidpeacefoundation.org.