Jamal Khashoggi

Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (Arabic: جمال خاشقجي‎ jamāl ḵāšuqji, born 13 October 1958; died circa 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, author and the former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel. He also served as editor for Saudi newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi progressives. He was murdered and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, sometime during or after 2 October 2018.

When I speak of the fear, intimidation, arrests and public shaming of intellectuals and religious leaders who dare to speak their minds, and then I tell you that I’m from Saudi Arabia, are you surprised?

Quotes

• When I speak of the fear, intimidation, arrests and public shaming of intellectuals and religious leaders who dare to speak their minds, and then I tell you that I’m from Saudi Arabia, are you surprised?
  • "Saudi Arabia wasn’t always this repressive. Now it’s unbearable." in The Washington Post (18 September 2017)

• I always found it ironic when a Saudi official bashes Islamists, given that Saudi Arabia is the mother of all political Islam — and even describes itself as an Islamic state in its “ Higher Law.” (We avoid the term “constitution” because of its secular interpretation and often say that the Koran is our constitution.)
  • "Saudi Arabia wasn’t always this repressive. Now it’s unbearable." in The Washington Post (18 September 2017)

• We are going through a major economic transformation that is supported by the people, a transformation that will free us from total dependence on oil and restore a culture of work and production.
  • "Saudi Arabia wasn’t always this repressive. Now it’s unbearable." in The Washington Post (18 September 2017)

• We are not opposed to our government and care deeply about Saudi Arabia. It is the only home we know or want. Yet we are the enemy.
  • "Saudi Arabia wasn’t always this repressive. Now it’s unbearable." in The Washington Post (18 September 2017)

• It was painful for me several years ago when several friends were arrested. I said nothing. I didn’t want to lose my job or my freedom. I worried about my family.
  I have made a different choice now. I have left my home, my family and my job, and I am raising my voice. To do otherwise would betray those who languish in prison. I can speak when so many cannot. I want you to know that Saudi Arabia has not always been as it is now. We Saudis deserve better.
  • "Saudi Arabia wasn’t always this repressive. Now it’s unbearable." in The Washington Post (18 September 2017)

• The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices. We suffer from poverty, mismanagement and poor education. Through the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural problems their societies face.
  • "Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression" (17 October 2018)

Quotes about Khashoggi

• Are we just supposed to throw away our relationship with Saudi Arabia because they murdered a journalist?
  • Eric Trump, in Fox News (October 2018)

• For those who are screaming blood for the Saudis — look, these people are key allies,... we’ve got an arms deal that everybody wanted a piece of… it’ll be a lot of jobs, a lot of money come to our coffers. It’s not something you want to blow up willy-nilly... You’ve got $100 billion worth of arms sales...we cannot alienate our biggest player in the Middle East.
  • Pat Robertson, "Vox News, Prominent evangelical leader on Khashoggi crisis: let’s not risk '$100 billion worth of arms sales'" (17 October 2018)