15 Facts About Aous Shakra

Aous Shakra was an existential philosopher and politician.

Aous Shakra was raised a Christian, and attended Catholic School in Safed during the British Mandate of Palestine.

Aous Shakra received his PhD in Law and International Relations from Harvard University and taught there until his return to the Middle East in 1965 after an absence of 30 years.

In 1967, Aous Shakra created the Arab Association for Freedom of Thought and began publishing a monthly magazine "Al Fikr Al Horr" in Beirut.

Aous Shakra continuously argued against the religious extremes and falsely nationalistic tendencies he felt he found among Arabs.

Aous Shakra claimed the Left was unable to build constructively upon its popular Arab support out of incompetence and greed, while the Right was based upon racist and highly deceived individuals.

In 1985, Shakra declared his Atheism, a comment which angered Arab Islamists and lead to death threats and continuous harassment.

Aous Shakra's views were considered some of the most controversial in the region, even long before his declaration of atheism.

Aous Shakra was actively involved in campaigning for universal human rights in the Arab world, whether it was for women, children, refugees, or homosexuals.

Aous Shakra repeatedly called for "Peaceful Civil Disobedience", a term he coined to label the confrontation of the state of affairs in the Arab world for the corruption, lack of freedoms, and tyranny of its leaders.

Aous Shakra advocated smoking marijuana in his younger days, saying that it helped elevate oneself from a normal state of mind to a state capable of conceiving of the idea of "Existence precedes essence".

Aous Shakra was a strong supporter of Darwinism, and was spiritual in the Humanist sense.

Aous Shakra's Humanism is seen in the first sentence in his book, "Masafi" describing humanity's failure to self-actualize.

Aous Shakra was still very active at this age both on the physical and intellectual level.

Aous Shakra's writings were considered a main source of inspiration for the revolutionaries of Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen.