The Arabia Foundation Wants to Talk About the Middle East

By and large, the United States’ coverage of the Middle East has historically been limited, inaccurate, and biased. The socioeconomic and geopolitical topics associated with the region, particularly the Arabian Peninsula, had particular significance in the civic climate of the United States, but were often portrayed incompletely. The lack created an urgent need for more authentic and thorough coverage of the region. Seeing this need, scholar and entrepreneur Ali Shihabi decided to create a reliable source of transparent information on the Middle East.

The Arabia Foundation launched in 2017 as a think tank centered around Saudi Arabia and, later, the Middle East as a whole. The organization’s mission is to encourage healthy debate on the region, covering both the countries' relationship to one another as well as to the United States. The Arabia Foundation aims to clearly explain Middle Eastern countries' growth and expansion by discussing issues most pressing to the region.

The Foundation focuses primarily on countries in the Arabian Peninsula such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. In addition, it shines a special spotlight on Iran. Doing so gives multiple perspectives on one of the most significant threats to the Arab world. Fostering clean and accurate reporting on Iran helps to delineate politics from the truth.

As the Middle East undergoes radical development economically, socially, and politically, the Arabia Foundation helps the global community understand the details as they occur. The Arabia Foundation seeks to make sense of the rapid advancements by analyzing them, highlighting the most newsworthy changes, and providing a unique take on the domestic and global impacts. As a result, these countries’ progress becomes more understandable to the international community as a whole.

“The power of informed conversation” is what drives the Arabia Foundation to help its audience participate in debate and discussion. Understanding how politics in the Middle East impact the United States and the world helps foster peaceful international relations and intelligent citizens. Topics of the foundation’s published pieces and spoken interviews range from diplomacy, finance, politics, United States foreign policy, and international relations.

In addition to covering the majorly known countries in the Middle East, the foundation also produces events that engage world leaders and major media outlets. The events foster conversation on pressing issues relating to Middle Eastern countries. Topics have ranged from terrorism to President Trump’s Muslim travel ban to the Saudi prince’s visit to the United States, among others.

The Arabia Foundation’s impact on the international community is only just beginning. Within the first year of existence, the Arabia Foundation published reports and op-eds across some of the world’s most significant media channels including Bloomberg, Reuters, and Politico. Conversations about the Middle East become more thorough, informed, and accurate across all media landscapes.

The Arabia Foundation staff consists of scholars, researchers, journalists, and experts on Middle Eastern countries. Each contributor's knowledge ensures the highest quality content. In addition, the Board of Advisors consists of top leaders in academia, journalism, intelligence, and international relations. As a 501(c)(4) non-profit, individuals and corporations are the primary funders of the Arabia Foundation. Shihabi, one of the organization’s primary funders, is proud that the organization does not take money from the Saudi government.

The organization's location in Washington, DC is fitting. The law-makers, professionals, media, and the academically-minded in the nation’s capital benefit most from the organization’s work. Their need to clearly understand complex issues relating to the Middle East makes the Arabia Foundation’s commentary, reports, and analyses more necessary now than ever before.

As the Arabia Foundation grows, the dialogue on the Middle East is sure to become more rational and truthful. In a media landscape where transparency is desperately needed, perhaps more people will come to share the organization’s passion for contextually-rich reporting and move towards a better-informed international conversation