Salam Pax
Encyclopedia
Salam Pax is the pseudonym
of Salam Abdulmunem , aka Salam al-Janabi , under which he became the "most famous blogger in the world" during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. Along with a massive readership, his site "Where is Raed?" received notable media
attention. The pseudonym consists of the word for "peace
" in Arabic (salām
) and in Latin
(pāx). His was one of the first instances of an individual's blog having a wide audience and impact.
) was born to a well-to-do secular
family in Baghdad in 1973. His father Adnan Abd al-Munim al-Janabi
, a Sunni
, worked for OPEC
, his mother was a Shi'ite, while Salam himself became skeptical of religion. He came to Vienna
, Austria, with his parents when he was 5, the family returned to Baghdad five years later, and Salam went back to Austria alone at the age of 16 in order to study at the Vienna International School
where he became fluent in English in addition to German
and his native Arabic
.
When he was joined by his younger brother Rashid and both went through their yearly allowance from back home in a month, their family brought them to Iraq in 1995, where Salam continued his study of architecture at the University of Baghdad
. He described the first two years as the most difficult period in his life:
, Lebanon
, architectural consultancy, for the NGO Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict
, and as an occasional interpreter for foreign journalists before and during the invasion of Iraq
, when he become a successful English-language blogger under the name Salam Pax, identifying himself repeatedly as gay although he considered coming out risky in Iraq, and a contributor to The Guardian
beginning from 4 June 2003. He moved to London in 2007, where he took up journalism at City University London, and then lived in Beirut
. Salam Abdulmunem returned to Baghdad in 2009 and started working as Communications Officer for UNICEF in Iraq in 2010.
, the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, and his work as an interpreter for journalist Peter Maass
. The title of Salam's site referred to his friend Raed Jarrar
, who was working on his master's degree
in Jordan
at that time. Raed did not respond promptly to e-mails, so Salam set up the weblog for him to read. Salam continued to post updates to the site even after it was temporarily blocked in Iraq. During the war, he gave accounts of bombings and other attacks from his suburb of Baghdad
until his Internet
access (and the electrical grid) was interrupted. Salam remained offline for weeks, writing his diary entries on paper in order to post them later.
Putting an end to earlier doubts and speculations about the blog's authenticity, The Guardian
newspaper tracked its author down in May 2003 and printed a story confirming that the person behind the pseudonym Salam Pax indeed lived in Iraq, that Salam was his real first (given) name, and that he was a 29-year-old architect. Subsequent entries discussed the chaotic postwar economy, and a June 1, 2003, post appeared to celebrate an anarchist effort, centered in the western Al-Adel Neighborhood
of Baghdad, to provide free Internet access to all of Iraq. It turned out not to be instigated by political anarchists, but by Iraqis who ran the prewar Internet cafes in Baghdad for Uruknet, the former government ISP.
In August 2004, after not having updated his previous blog for several months, Pax started a second blog titled "shut up you fat whiner!" He also worked as a journalist for The Guardian, writing columns and featured articles. In October 2004 he was sent to the United States
by The Guardian to report on the American presidential race and current thought there on the subject of Iraq.
In February 2005 a series of filmed reports by Salam Pax, produced by Guardian Films and transmitted by the BBC
's Newsnight
television programme, won the Royal Television Society
Award for Innovation. In his Newsnight report broadcast in October 2005, he interviewed Iraqi Member of Parliament Adnan al-Janabi
, a Sunni moderate who served as vice-chair of the constitutional committee, about the proposed Iraqi constitution and revealed that al-Janabi was his father. Salam also mentioned that his mother was Shia, and described his family as being secular
in political orientation.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Salam Abdulmunem , aka Salam al-Janabi , under which he became the "most famous blogger in the world" during and after 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...
. Along with a massive readership, his site "Where is Raed?" received notable media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
attention. The pseudonym consists of the word for "peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
" in Arabic (salām
S-L-M
Shin-Lamedh-Mem is the triconsonantal root of many Semitic words, and many of those words are used as names. The root itself translates as "whole, safe, intact".-Salam "Peace":...
) and in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(pāx). His was one of the first instances of an individual's blog having a wide audience and impact.
Bio
Salam Abdulmunem (the name he uses now, based on Abd al-MunimAdnan al-Janabi
Adnan Abd al-Munim al-Janabi is an Iraqi politician, tribal leader and economist who was a Minister of State in the Iraqi Interim Government from June 2004 to January 2005....
) was born to a well-to-do secular
Secularity
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion.For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them...
family in Baghdad in 1973. His father Adnan Abd al-Munim al-Janabi
Adnan al-Janabi
Adnan Abd al-Munim al-Janabi is an Iraqi politician, tribal leader and economist who was a Minister of State in the Iraqi Interim Government from June 2004 to January 2005....
, a Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, worked for OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
, his mother was a Shi'ite, while Salam himself became skeptical of religion. He came to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria, with his parents when he was 5, the family returned to Baghdad five years later, and Salam went back to Austria alone at the age of 16 in order to study at the Vienna International School
Vienna International School
The Vienna International School is a non-profit international school, located in Vienna, Austria. The school was built to accommodate the children of UN employees and diplomats when the UN decided to locate one of its offices in Vienna, and it remains affiliated to the UN...
where he became fluent in English in addition to German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and his native Arabic
Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible Arabic varieties native to the Mesopotamian basin of Iraq as well as spanning into eastern and northern Syria, western Iran, southeastern Turkey, and spoken in respective Iraqi diaspora communities.-Varieties:Iraqi Arabic has two major varieties...
.
When he was joined by his younger brother Rashid and both went through their yearly allowance from back home in a month, their family brought them to Iraq in 1995, where Salam continued his study of architecture at 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....
. He described the first two years as the most difficult period in his life:
I felt lost somewhere between the East and the West. I did not know where I belonged for a long time.After graduation, he worked for the Baghdad office of a Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, architectural consultancy, for the NGO Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict
Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict
Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization and advocacy founded in 2003 by Marla Ruzicka. CIVIC works on behalf of war victims, providing research and advocating policymakers. CIVIC is a part of the Making Amends Campaign.-Foundations:Campaign for...
, and as an occasional interpreter for foreign journalists before and during the 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...
, when he become a successful English-language blogger under the name Salam Pax, identifying himself repeatedly as gay although he considered coming out risky in Iraq, and a contributor to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
beginning from 4 June 2003. He moved to London in 2007, where he took up journalism at City University London, and then lived in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. Salam Abdulmunem returned to Baghdad in 2009 and started working as Communications Officer for UNICEF in Iraq in 2010.
Where is Raed?
In his blog, Salam discussed his friends, disappearances of people under the government of Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, 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...
, and his work as an interpreter for journalist Peter Maass
Peter Maass
Peter Maass is an American journalist and author. He was born in 1960 in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. He has mainly covered...
. The title of Salam's site referred to his friend Raed Jarrar
Raed Jarrar
Raed Jarrar is an Iraq-born architect, blogger, and political advocate resident in the U.S. Capital Washington, DC.Jarrar was born in Iraq, and raised in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He is half Iraqi and half Palestinian...
, who was working on his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
at that time. Raed did not respond promptly to e-mails, so Salam set up the weblog for him to read. Salam continued to post updates to the site even after it was temporarily blocked in Iraq. During the war, he gave accounts of bombings and other attacks from his suburb of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
until his Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access (and the electrical grid) was interrupted. Salam remained offline for weeks, writing his diary entries on paper in order to post them later.
Putting an end to earlier doubts and speculations about the blog's authenticity, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper tracked its author down in May 2003 and printed a story confirming that the person behind the pseudonym Salam Pax indeed lived in Iraq, that Salam was his real first (given) name, and that he was a 29-year-old architect. Subsequent entries discussed the chaotic postwar economy, and a June 1, 2003, post appeared to celebrate an anarchist effort, centered in the western Al-Adel Neighborhood
Mansour district
Al Mansour district is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad, Iraq. It is named after Abu Ja'far al-Mansur, the second Abbasid Caliph and founder of Baghdad....
of Baghdad, to provide free Internet access to all of Iraq. It turned out not to be instigated by political anarchists, but by Iraqis who ran the prewar Internet cafes in Baghdad for Uruknet, the former government ISP.
The Baghdad Blog and other reporting
In 2003 Atlantic Books, in association with The Guardian, published a book based on "Where is Raed?" under the title The Baghdad Blog (ISBN 1-84354-262-5). It comprises Salam's blog entries from September 2002 to June 2003 with footnotes.In August 2004, after not having updated his previous blog for several months, Pax started a second blog titled "shut up you fat whiner!" He also worked as a journalist for The Guardian, writing columns and featured articles. In October 2004 he was sent to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by The Guardian to report on the American presidential race and current thought there on the subject of Iraq.
In February 2005 a series of filmed reports by Salam Pax, produced by Guardian Films and transmitted by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
television programme, won the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Award for Innovation. In his Newsnight report broadcast in October 2005, he interviewed Iraqi Member of Parliament Adnan al-Janabi
Adnan al-Janabi
Adnan Abd al-Munim al-Janabi is an Iraqi politician, tribal leader and economist who was a Minister of State in the Iraqi Interim Government from June 2004 to January 2005....
, a Sunni moderate who served as vice-chair of the constitutional committee, about the proposed Iraqi constitution and revealed that al-Janabi was his father. Salam also mentioned that his mother was Shia, and described his family as being secular
Secularity
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion.For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them...
in political orientation.
Quotes
- "23/3 8:30pm (day4) we start counting the hours from the moment one of the news channels report that the B52s have left their airfield. It takes them around 6 hours to get to Iraq. On the first day of the bombing it worked precisely. Yesterday we were a bit surprised that after 6 hours bombs didn’t start falling. The attacks on Baghdad were much less than two days ago. We found out today in the news that the city of Tikrit got the hell bombed out of it. To day the B52s took off at 3pm, on half an hour we will know whether it is Baghdad tonight or another city."
- "One day, like in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, those journalists will get bored and go write about SyriaSyriaSyria , 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....
or IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
; Iraq will be off your media radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. Out of sight, out of mind. Lucky you, you have that option. I have to live it." - "There were days when the Red Crescent was begging for volunteers to help in taking the bodies of dead people off the city street and bury them properly. The hospital grounds have been turned to burial grounds.."
- "You can follow the trail of the foreigners by how much things cost in a certain district."
- "Anyway, all that doesn’t matter now. Saddam is gone, thanks to you. Was it worth it? Be assured it was. We all know that it got to a point where we would have never been rid of Saddam without foreign intervention; I just wish it would have been a bit better planned."
Blogs
- Where is Raed? - Salam Pax's original blog, 12/2002-4/2004.
- Photo, Where is Raed? - Salam Pax's accompanying photoblog, 6-7/2003.
- shut up you fat whiner! - Salam Pax's blog, 8/2004-7/2006.
- Mind the Globe (at mindtheglo.be, now defunct) - London news site launched by Salam Pax and other CUL students, 5-6/2008.
- Salam Pax: the Baghdad Blogger - 8/2004-4/2009, with archived "Where is Raed?" (12/2002-4/2004).
- Raed Jarrar's blog - Raed in the Middle.
Interviews
- Mona Kareem, Salam Pax: Hah! Gay, Atheist, Western Educated. Mona Kareem, 27 May 2011, Blogspot.com.
- Sarah Montague, How have the events of the past week affected daily life for Iraqis?, Today, 25 February 2006, BBC Radio 4. - The interview begins 3' into the clip.
- Andrew Denton, Salam Pax, Enough RopeEnough RopeEnough Rope with Andrew Denton is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC Television in Australia...
, 17 May 2004, ABC TelevisionABC TelevisionABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
, Australia. - Terry Gross, The Baghdad Blogger Salam Pax, Fresh Air, 18 September 2003, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. - (Webchat), Baghdad War Diary, Today, 9 September 2003, BBC Radio 4.
- Sarah Montague, The Most Famous Web Diarist in the World - Salam Pax. Today, 9 September 2003, BBC Radio 4.
Articles
- CNN World's Untold Stories - Baghdad Blogger Salam Pax: Part 2, 17 April 2007.
- CNN World's Untold Stories - Baghdad Blogger Salam Pax: Part 1, 11 April 2007.
- Salam Pax, "The Baghdad Blogger Goes to Washington: Day One," The Guardian, 22 October 2004.
- Salam Pax, "Baghdad Blogger," The Guardian, 4 June 2003.
- Peter MaassPeter MaassPeter Maass is an American journalist and author. He was born in 1960 in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. He has mainly covered...
, "Salam Pax Is Real," Slate, 2 June 2003. - Rory McCarthy, "Salam's Story," The Guardian, 30 May 2003.
- Daniel Zalewski, "A Baghdad Blogger." The New Yorker, 3 March 2003.
Videos
- Don Arbor, Salam Pax (Peace): A Peace Anthem for our Time, released February 2008.