Munir Mawari

Munir Mawari is an Arab-American journalist and a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.. He has worked with the Federal government of the United States, Voice of America, Asharq Al-Awsat. Al Jazeera|Al-Jazeera, and Alaraby Al-Jadeed. He is the author of two books, Collapse Scenario of Saleh Regime and Dancing on the Heads of Snakes in Yemen. Mawari is also a member of The Supreme National Authority for Monitoring the Implementation of the Outcomes of the National Dialogue headed by the President of Yemen. He is currently working to create awareness about the situation in Yemen after the fall of the Saleh regime.
== Early Life and Education ==
Munir Mawari (also known as Munir Al-Maweri and Muneer Almaori) was born in 1967 in Sana'a, Yemen, to Yahia Saleh and Dabia Mawari. He did his Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1988 from Yarmouk University|Yarmouk University, Jordan. Mawari migrated to the United States in 1990, where he obtained the Certificate of English for Heritage Language Speakers from Georgetown University, Washington, DC, in 2007. He completed his MBA from Western Governors University, Salt Lake City|Salt Lake City, UtahWestern Governors University. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.wgu.edu/content/dam/web-sites/alumni/documents/2019-Grad-Name-Book.pdf. 
== Career ==
Mawari began his career as a journalist in 1990 for the The Arab American News|Arab American News in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1992, he traveled back to Yemen to work for the official T.V. station of the Yemeni government. In 2000, he moved to Doha, Qatar, and became one of the founding members; as the Managing Editor Assistant for Al-Jazeera.net. During his role, he supervised 16 reporters and developed a newscast. In 2003, he joined the Voice of America as a Broadcasting Journalist. He later joined the Asharq Al-Awsat as the Arabic Correspondent in 2005. In 2007, he was hired by the U.S. government as an Arabic Analyst and was also awarded the David Boren award from the U.S. National Security Education Program (NSEP). His role was to conduct counterterrorism studies relevant to Middle Eastern countries. Mawari is currently a human rights advocate, especially for the people of Yemenhttp://www.hichamalaouifoundation.org/events/from-political-activism-to-democratic-change-in-the-arab-world/https://theglobalobservatory.org/2014/02/without-international-support-yemen-could-slide-backwards/.
=== Banned for Human Rights ===
In October 2002, Mawari wrote an article titled "Yes to Liberating Iraq," published by Yedioth Ahronoth|Yediot Ahronot, an Israeli Daily. He received criticism on the topic and the country of publication. In response, Mawari, who was initially invited to the First Sana'a Conference on Democracy, Human Rights, and the Role of the International Criminal Court in 2004, got his invitation canceled.
=== Exposing Corruption Scandals ===
Mawari has been writing articles for several Yemeni and Arabic media outlets, including the Mareb Press and Al-Masdar newspaper. His articles are published under his weekly column, "From Washington." One of his most famous articles was released in 2008 when he wrote about a U.S. company with whom the Yemeni government signed a deal. He reported that the corruption charges were placed on five nuclear reactors in Yemen, worth $ 15 billion. The deal also included the burial of nuclear waste within the country. 
=== Mawari's Warning Regarding Yemen's Security Threats ===
After Middle Eastern foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration|Obama's 2008 speech to the Arab leaders in Cairo, Egypt, Mawari predicted the downfall of the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, and other leaders, including the Saleh of Yemen. This was two years before the Arab Spring|Arab Spring Revolutions. Mawari, in an article titled "Terrorism Monitor," also warned the U.S. government regarding the security threats emerging from Yemen in response to the Saleh policies. He reported that the U.S. realized that it had supported corrupt and terrorist Arab regimes, which amplified poverty and terrorism in the areas. The Special Court, in absentia, sentenced Mawari to two years of imprisonment, and a lifetime ban from journalism in Yemen, on the charges of defaming Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh. 
=== Mawari's Prediction in his Books ===
In December 2009, the Lebanese publishing house, Bissan published two books in the name of Munir Mawari. The books are titled "Collapse Scenario of Saleh Regime and "Dancing on the Heads of Snakes in Yemen. The books gained popularity due to having Mawari's prediction of the downfall of Ali Abdullah Saleh before the end of the 2013 presidential term, which happened during the Yemeni Revolution|Yemeni Revolution 2011. 
=== Warning on Hosni Mubarak ===
In 2009, Mawari warned President Hosni Mubarak that change in Egypt was inevitable. Mawari suggested that resisting changes through oppression and tyranny could further open hidden corruption charges in his article. After the article, Mawari was put on Mubarak's government's blacklist and also got banned from entering Syria.
== Awards and Accolades ==
* In 2007, Mawari received an award from David Boren from the U.S. National Security Education Program (NSEP)
* In 2004, he received the Voice of America's Award of Achievement
* In 2002, he received the Aljazeera award of appreciation.
== Personal Life ==
Mawari has two daughters and a son named Haitham, Rima, and Aya. Mawari also has his club named after him in Clubhouse App. He is passionate about the use of social media and uses them consistently. He is fluent in Arabic and English, familiar with French and Spanish. 
 
Category:Arab journalists 
Category:American freelance journalists
Category:1967 births