Mehdi Hasan
Hasan at a Labour conference in 2012
Born
Mehdi Raza Hasan

July 1979 (age 44)
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
EducationMerchant Taylors' School
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Organisations
Notable workWin Every Argument (2023 book) Ed: The Milibands and the Making of a Labour Leader
TelevisionThe Café, Head To Head, UpFront, The Mehdi Hasan Show

Mehdi Raza Hasan (born July 1979)[1][2][3] is a British-American broadcaster and author. He presented The Mehdi Hasan Show[4] on Peacock since October 2020 and on MSNBC from February 2021 until the show's cancellation in November 2023.[5][6] On the final broadcast on 7 January 2024, he announced that he was leaving MSNBC.[7]

A graduate of Christ Church, Oxford, Hasan began his television career as a researcher and then producer on ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme. Following a stint on the BBC's The Politics Show he became deputy executive producer on Sky's breakfast show Sunrise before moving to Channel 4 as their editor of news and current affairs. In 2009 he was appointed senior editor for politics at the New Statesman. In 2012 he became a presenter on Al Jazeera's English news channel, and in 2015 moved to Washington, D.C. to work full-time for Al Jazeera on UpFront[8] and host the Deconstructed podcast produced by the online publication The Intercept from 2018 to 2020.[9]

Hasan is the author of Win Every Argument, and the co-author of a biography of former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. He was formerly the political editor of the UK edition of The Huffington Post[10] and the presenter of the Al Jazeera English shows: The Café, Head to Head and UpFront.[11]

Early life and education

Mehdi Raza Hasan was born in Swindon to immigrant Indian Hyderabadi Shia Muslim parents from the city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, South India (now in Telangana).[12][13][14][15][16]

Hasan was privately educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, a day independent school for boys at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers District of Hertfordshire, near the town of Northwood in North West London.[17] He then attended Christ Church, Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE),[17] and graduated in 2000.

Career

Hasan worked as a researcher and then producer on ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme,[18] with a brief period in between on BBC One's The Politics Show.[18] Following this, he became deputy executive producer on Sky's breakfast show Sunrise[18] before moving to Channel 4 as their editor of news and current affairs.[19] He was appointed senior editor for politics at the New Statesman in late spring of 2009,[20] where he stayed until May 2012, then becoming political director of The Huffington Post website.[19]

Hasan became a presenter on Al Jazeera's English news channel in May 2012.[21] Hasan has appeared (six times) on the BBC's Question Time programme,[22] and the Sunday morning programmes The Big Questions[23] and Sunday Morning Live.[24]

In 2013, Hasan took part in a debate at the Oxford Union to consider whether Islam is a peaceful religion. Hasan, who is an Ithna’Asheri Shia Muslim, vouched for Islam as a religion of peace, citing political and cultural reasons for violence in Muslim majority countries, as opposed to holding the religion of Islam responsible. In the vote on the motion, the house affirmed with Hasan and the other proposers that Islam is a religion of peace with 286 votes in favor and 168 votes against.[25]

Recorded at the Oxford Union, Head to Head was a programme on Al Jazeera English in which Hasan interviewed public figures; it had run for three series by December 2014. Since 2015, working full-time for the network in Washington, D.C., Hasan has hosted a weekly interview and discussion programme.[8]

Hasan began a podcast in 2018 entitled Deconstructed, produced by the investigative journalism website The Intercept. On air, Hasan would discuss recent news topics and host guests. Notable topics covered on the podcast include police brutality, inequality, QAnon, and Donald Trump's activity on Twitter. Notable podcast guests have included Noam Chomsky, Ilhan Omar, and Bernie Sanders. On 2 October 2020, Hasan announced that he would no longer host the show as part of his move to host The Mehdi Hasan Show on NBC's new streaming service, Peacock.[26]

Hasan became a naturalized citizen of the United States on 9 October 2020, in time to vote in the 2020 United States presidential election.[27]

Hasan hosted The Mehdi Hasan Show[28] on the online service Peacock since Oct 2020 airing weeknights at 7 pm Eastern.[4] Notable guests on The Mehdi Hasan Show have included Mark Ruffalo, Jon Stewart, John Bolton, Keith Ellison, Ro Khanna, John Legend, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In March 2021, Hasan launched the same show on MSNBC every Sunday evening.[29][30] He is also the fill-in host on MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes, The Rachel Maddow Show, The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, MSNBC removed Hasan and two other Muslim broadcasters, Ayman Mohyeldin and Ali Velshi, from anchoring shows on its network.[31][32] NBC stated the shifts were coincidental and not due to the hosts' religion.[33][34] On 30 November 2023, it was announced that Hasan's MSNBC and Peacock shows would end.[35] Hasan announced at the end of his final show on 7 January 2024 that he had decided to leave the network.[36]

Views and opinions


Abortion

Hasan has defended his anti-abortion views in print, writing "What I would like is for my fellow lefties and liberals to try to understand and respect the views of those of us who are pro-life" in an October 2012 online column for the New Statesman.[37] Hasan argued that the issue of abortion "is one of those rare political issues on which left and right seem to have swapped ideologies: right-wingers talk of equality, human rights and 'defending the innocent', while left-wingers fetishise 'choice', selfishness and unbridled individualism."[37] He later regretted expressing himself in this way.[38] However, the article gained much attention on Twitter[39] and Hasan debated the issue with Suzanne Moore on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.[40]

Telegraph blogger Brendan O'Neill thought both Hasan and his pro-choice opponents shared an "instinct for paternalism, a belief that the job of the modern Left is to care for and coo over the weak and puny of the world."[41] Meanwhile, Labour MP Diane Abbott thought that "any feminist, worth the name, knows that control over [our] own bodies is ground zero for every educational, social and economic advance that women have made in the last century".[42] Cristina Odone wrote: "...there is no greater intolerance than that of the so-called tolerant liberals: pro-choice advocates will not allow any discussion of abortion that questions the status quo. Poor Hasan ventured into terrain marked "taboo".[43]

In a 2020 series of tweets, Hasan expressed regrets for "having expressed offensive & illiberal views in the past on everything from homosexuality to abortion" and stated that they were views he no longer holds.[44]

Saudi Arabia

Hasan has made several statements in opposition to the Saudi government, including challenging a statement made by Donald Trump, in which he claimed that he himself had no financial interests in Saudi Arabia, an allegation which Trump called "fake news".[45] Hasan challenged Trump's statements in a video essay published by The Intercept in October 2018.[46]

In February 2019, during a debate organised by Intelligence Squared in London,[47] Hasan stated that the West should cut ties with Saudi Arabia, saying:

It's time we make clear that the West needs to cut its ties with Saudi Arabia, especially military ties, arms exports, weapons, bombs.[47]

The comments were made in response to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly ordered by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman, as well as several human rights violations which Hasan cited as also being carried out by Saudi Arabia.[48] Hasan had previously interviewed Khashoggi about freedom of speech in Saudi Arabia.[49]

Controversy

During a sermon delivered in 2009,[50] quoting a verse of the Quran, Hasan used the terms "cattle" and "people of no intelligence" to describe non-believers. In another sermon, he used the term "animals" to describe non-Muslims.[51][52] In 2019, Mehdi apologized for these earlier statements and called them "dumb", "ranty" and "offensive".[53][54]

Awards

In January 2014, Hasan was awarded the Services to Media award at the British Muslim Awards.[55] In 2017, he was named European Young Leader by the Brussels-based Friends of Europe think tank.[56]

In 2019, Hasan won the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award for Online Column Writing.[57]

Selected works

  • With James Macintyre. Ed: The Milibands and the making of a Labour leader, London, Biteback Publishing, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84954-102-2
  • Summer of Unrest: The Debt Delusion: Exposing ten Tory myths about debts, deficits and spending cuts, Vintage Digital, 28 July 2011.
  • Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking. Henry Holt and Co. 2023. ISBN 9781250853479

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ Head to head – Will the internet set us free? Archived 4 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Al Jazeera English, 4 April 2014 (video, 47 mins), at 7:20 – 7:25 min
    2. ↑ "Mehdi Raza HASAN - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Archived from the original on 3 February 2017.
    3. ↑ "findmypast.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
    4. 1 2 "Peacock Announces Shows For Mehdi Hasan and Zerlina Maxwell". Mediaite. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
    5. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (25 February 2021). "Mehdi Hasan Launches Show in MSNBC Weekend Prime".
    6. ↑ "MSNBC cancels Mehdi Hasan's show | Semafor". www.semafor.com. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
    7. ↑ https://www.thewrap.com/mehdi-hasan-leaves-msnbc-show-canceled/
    8. 1 2 "Mehdi Hasan to host new weekly show on Al Jazeera" Archived 18 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Al Jazeera, 18 December 2014
    9. ↑ "A Goodbye Message from Mehdi" – via play.acast.com.
    10. ↑ "Mehdi Hasan". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
    11. ↑ "Mehdi Hasan – Profile". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
    12. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi [@mehdirhasan] (26 December 2015). "I'm British, of Indian origin. Here's ludicrous, offensive, inaccurate tweet that ludicrous Fatah quietly deleted: https://t.co/p0yZnqhVku" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021 – via Twitter.
    13. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi [@mehdirhasan] (16 March 2019). "My dad is an engineer from Hyderabad, India. These stories are so hard to read. RIP. My thoughts and prayers and solidarity goes out to all the victims' families. https://t.co/ty5FqIAyLo" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021 – via Twitter.
    14. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi [@mehdirhasan] (20 January 2021). "I'm the proud son of south Indian immigrants to the West myself so, yes, let me take some pride in this historic success of the daughter of a south Indian immigrant. And, no, it doesn't mean I agree with the new VP's policies or positions on any particular issue. Grow up, folks" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021 – via Twitter.
    15. ↑ Turvill, William (10 March 2022). "Mehdi Hasan on making it in America and why media can't 'reset the clock' on Trump". Press Gazette. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
    16. ↑ Smith, David (23 February 2023). "'Biden's the most impressive president of my lifetime': Mehdi Hasan on Fox News, tough questions and post-Trump politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
    17. 1 2 "OMTs". Merchant Taylors' School. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
    18. 1 2 3 "Question Time: as it happened 26th October". The Telegraph. 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
    19. 1 2 "Mehdi Hasan joins HuffPo UK as political director" Archived 7 September 2012 at archive.today, Press Gazette (website), 21 May 20123
    20. ↑ Dany Al Samad "New Statesman recruits Mehdi Hasan as senior editor (Politics)" Archived 9 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Journalism.co.uk
    21. ↑ "Mehdi Hasan joins Al Jazeera as host" Archived 11 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Jazeera, 17 May 2012.
    22. ↑ On 13 May 2010, 23 September 2010, 10 February 2011, 8 December 2011, 25 October 2012 and 3 October 2013
    23. ↑ "The Big Questions". Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
    24. ↑ "Sunday Morning Live". Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
    25. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Mehdi Hasan | Islam Is A Peaceful Religion | Oxford Union". YouTube.
    26. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi Hasan. "A Goodbye Message from Mehdi". Acast.com. Acast. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
    27. ↑ Mehdi Hassan [@mehdirhasan] (9 October 2020). "Anyways, back to the oath ceremony. Took the oath. Congratulated my fellow immigrants. Got the naturalization certificate. It's done. I'm officially a citizen of the United States and ready to vote, weeks before the most consequential U.S. election of our lifetimes" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    28. ↑ "Watch The Mehdi Hasan Show Streaming Online | Peacock". @peacocktv.
    29. ↑ Johnson, Ted (25 February 2021). "MSNBC Gives Mehdi Hasan's Show A Sunday Night Slot". Yahoo News. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
    30. ↑ "The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC". MSNBC.
    31. ↑ Tani, Max (13 October 2023). "Inside MSNBC's Middle East conflict". Yahoo News. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
    32. ↑ "Inside MSNBC's Middle East conflict | Semafor". www.semafor.com. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
    33. ↑ "MSNBC denies report it sidelined Muslim anchors". 16 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
    34. ↑ Heer, Jeet (16 October 2023). "The Fight Over MSNBC's Cave-in to Islamophobia". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
    35. ↑ Johnson, Ted (30 November 2023). "MSNBC To Drop Mehdi Hasan's Show, Launch 'The Weekend' As Part Of Overhaul Of Saturday And Sunday Lineup". Deadline Hollywood.
    36. ↑ Weprin, Alex (8 January 2024). "Mehdi Hasan Exits MSNBC After Cancelation of His Sunday Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
    37. 1 2 Hasan, Mehdi (11 October 2012). "Being pro-life doesn't make me any less of a lefty". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Hasan's two articles on the abortion debate were cross-posted at The Huffington Post.
    38. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi (16 October 2012). "10 things I learned from debating abortion on Twitter". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012.
    39. ↑ "Has pro-lifer Mehdi Hasan been victimised on Twitter?". The Independent. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012.
    40. ↑ "Can the left be anti-abortion?". Today. BBC News. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012.
    41. ↑ O'Neill, Brendan (17 October 2012). "Mehdi Hasan and his shrill critics have more in common than they are willing to admit". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012.
    42. ↑ Abbott, Diane (17 October 2012). "We Must Recognise That Real Women's Lives Are at Stake in All of This". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
    43. ↑ Odone, Cristina (16 October 2012). "Why won't feminists let men debate abortion?". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012.
    44. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi [@mehdirhasan] (8 July 2020). "I'm under no illusions btw: I say this as someone who has been lambasted by many liberals online - & almost hounded out of a job - for having expressed offensive & illiberal views in the past on everything from homosexuality to abortion (views which I regret, & no longer hold)" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021 – via Twitter.
    45. ↑ Liptak, Kevin; Orden, Erica (16 October 2018). "No financial interests in Saudi Arabia? Trump has said differently before". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    46. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi (16 October 2018). "Does Saudi Arabia Own Donald Trump?". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    47. 1 2 Şafak, Yeni. "'West needs to cut all ties with Saudi Arabia'". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    48. ↑ Shalaby, Khaled. "Mehdi Hasan argues that the West should cut ties with Saudi Arabia". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    49. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi; Khashoggi, Jamal; Shihabi, Ali (20 October 2018). "Khashoggi on life under MBS: 'Nobody dares to speak'". UpFront. Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    50. ↑ "Arbaeen Majlis 2009 (Mehdi Hassan)". Islamic Unity Society. 2009. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011.
    51. ↑ Levine, Jon (25 March 2019). "Al Jazeera Host Mehdi Hasan Apologizes for Past Criticisms of Non-Believers". The Wrap.
    52. ↑ Murray, Douglas (6 August 2012). "Peter Hitchens vs Mehdi Hasan". The Spectator.
    53. ↑ https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1109561845822697472
    54. ↑ https://www.thewrap.com/al-jazeera-host-mehdi-hasan-apologizes-for-past-criticisms-of-non-believers/
    55. ↑ "British Muslim Awards 2014 winners". Asian Image. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
    56. ↑ EPIC. "European Young Leaders". Friends of Europe. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
    57. ↑ "Announcing the 2018 Sigma Delta Chi Award winners".
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