Ali al-Ahmed

Who is Ali al-Ahmed?

Ali Abbas al-Ahmed is a Saudi scholar and expert on Saudi political affairs including: terrorism, Islamic movements, Wahhabi Islam, Saudi political history, Saudi-American relations, and the history of the al-Saud family. He is the founder and director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, an independent think tank in Washington, D.C. focused on providing analyses and disseminating information on political issues in the Gulf region and particularly Saudi Arabia, and U.S.-Gulf relations. IGA also convenes conferences, conducts independent research and investigations, and works with the media and policymakers to fosters a deeper understanding of the Gulf countries by providing them with up-to-date and exclusive information and connecting them with reliable analysts.

He has been invited to speak by Princeton University, Amnesty International, the Hudson Institute, American Enterprise Institute and Meridian International Center.

As a journalist, al-Ahmed exposed major news stories such as The Pentagon's botched translation of the 9-11 Bin Laden tape in December 2001. He also discovered the video of Daniel Pearl's murder.