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Non-profit

Arab Studies Institute (ASI)

Website:

arabstudiesinstitute.org/
Location:

Fairfax, VA
Tax ID:

46-1494522
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $375,712
Expenses: $366,554
President:

Bassam Haddad
Founded:

2014
Type:

Foreign affairs analysis

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Arab Studies Institute (ASI), formally organized as ASI-KP, is 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that studies and publishes research on the Arab world. 1 2

ASI serves as an umbrella organization for five subsidiary projects and has received financial support from liberal billionaire financier George Soros’s Open Society Institute (now known as the Open Society Foundations). 3 4

Background

The Arab Studies Institute was originally a journal founded in 1992 by then-Georgetown University student Bassam Haddad. ASI was launched in 2003, and the journal, known as the Arab Studies Journal, became one of ASI’s projects. 5 6 It was formally incorporated as a nonprofit in 2014. 7

Programs

Arab Studies Institute operates five subsidiaries under its organizational umbrella. Arab Studies Journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication covering Arab and Middle Eastern studies. 8 ASI publishes the journal twice a year in affiliation with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.

Jadaliyya is an online magazine under the ASI umbrella covering the Arab World and broader Middle East. Launched in 2010, Jadaliyya currently publishes in Arabic, French, English, Turkish, and other languages. 9

Quilting Point is an independent film collective that produces video content related to the Middle East. 10 11 In 2003, Quilting Point’s first production, About Baghdad, was the first film produced about Iraq after Saddam Hussein was removed from power. 12

The Forum on Arab and Muslim Affairs (FAMA) is ASI’s research arm. It conducts projects and initiatives for analyzing the Middle East. 13 FAMA’s work includes the Black Palestinian Transnational Solidarities Project, an initiative to develop “Black-Palestinian solidarity beyond a US-centric and West Bank-centric lens.” 14

Tadween Publishing is ASI’s publishing house. 15 One of Tadween’s priorities is the dissemination of ASI’s Knowledge Production Project, an archive platform for research conducted on the Middle East. 16

ASI also has a research and pedagogical affiliate in Beirut, Lebanon called the Arab Studies Institute – Research and Education Methodologies (ASI-REM). 17

Partners

Arab Studies Institute’s Jadaliyya has partnered with George Mason University’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and the Schar School of Policy and Government to host discussion panels. 18 19 The Arab Studies Journal is an affiliate of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. 20

Leadership

Bassam Haddad is Arab Studies Institute’s executive director. 21 22 He is an associate professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the director of the school’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program. Haddad is also the co-founder and editor of ASI’s Jadaliyya online publication and the founding editor of the Arab Studies Journal. 23

Sinan Antoon is an ASI board member. He is an Iraqi poet who was critical of the United States’ 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. 24 He also co-directed Quilting Point’s About Baghdad documentary. 25

Lisa Anderson is a member of ASI’s advisory board. She served as the President of the American University of Cairo from 2011 to 2016 but resigned after 97 percent of participants in a referendum held by AUC Student Union voted to express distrust in the school’s management. 26 27 Anderson is also a special lecturer at the Columbia University School of International and Public affairs. 28 29

Maria Bou Zeid is the executive director of ASI-REM. 30 Bou Zeid is an associate professor and chair of the Media Studies Department at Notre Dame University-Louaize in Lebanon. 31 In 2020, she wrote a guide on identifying online misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic published on Notre Dame University-Louize’s online news blog. 32

Funding

Arab Studies Institute revenue typically ranges between $330,000 and $470,000 annually. In 2019, its revenue was just over $66,000; and unlike other years, all its revenue came from selling assets. In most years, its revenue came from contributions. 33 In 2013 and 2014, ASI received $408,391 from George Soros’s Open Society Institute, and $200,000 from the Foundation to Promote Open Society in 2018. 34 35 36

References

  1. GuideStar, ASI-KP Inc 2020 990. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2020/461/494/2020-461494522-202113489349300811-9.pdf
  2. Arab Studies Institute, About. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.arabstudiesinstitute.org/en/pages/about
  3. Arab Studies Institute, About. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.arabstudiesinstitute.org/en/pages/about
  4. ProPublica, Open Society Institute 2013 990-PF. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/137029285/201423189349101912/IRS990PF
  5. Status Hour, “Oberlin Interview with Bassam Haddad on Scholarship and the Arab Studies Institute,” April 15, 2018. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.statushour.com/en/Interview/1323
  6. LinkedIn, Arab Studies Institute profile, Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/arab-studies-institute/about/
  7. ProPublica, ASI-KP Inc 2013-2020 990s. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/461494522
  8. Arab Studies Journal, Main Website Page. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.arabstudiesjournal.org/
  9. [1] Jadaliyya, About Us. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.jadaliyya.com/AboutUs https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/24426/Jadaliyya-Turns-One
  10. Quilting Point, Main Website Page. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.quiltingpoint.com/
  11. Bassam Haddad, “Jadaliyya: A new form of producing and presenting knowledge in/of the Middle East (interview by Julia Elyachar),” Society for Cultural Anthropology, May 15, 2013. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/jadaliyya-a-new-form-of-producing-and-presenting-knowledge-in-of-the-middle-east-interview-by-julia-elyachar
  12. IMDb, “About Baghdad: Plot.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450958/plotsummary
  13. Forum on Arab and Muslim Affairs, Research Projects. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.arabandmuslimaffairs.org/projects.html
  14. Forum on Arab and Muslim Affairs, “Black-Palestinian Transnational Solidarities Project.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.arabandmuslimaffairs.org/black-palestinian-transnational-solidarities-project.html
  15. Tadween Publishing, About Us. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://tadweenpublishing.com/pages/about-us
  16.  Knowledge Production Project (KPP), About. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.knowledgeproduction.com/About
  17.  Arab Studies Institute – Research and Education Methodologies (ASI-REM), About ASI-REM. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.asirem.org/about.html
  18. Jadaliyya Reports, “In her name: Women rising, state violence, and the future of Iran,” Jadaliyya, September 28, 2022. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/44457
  19. Jadaliyya Reports, “Sextarianism: Sovereignty, secularism, and the state in Lebanon,” Jadaliyya, September 30, 2022. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/44464/Sextarianism-Sovereignty,-Secularism,-and-the-state-in-Lebanon-by-Maya-Mikdashi-30-September
  20. Arab Studies Journal, Global Engagement Global Database at Georgetown University, Arab Studies Journal. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://global.georgetown.edu/activities/arab-studies-journal
  21. Arab Studies Institute, People. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.arabstudiesinstitute.org/en/people
  22. LinkedIn, Bassam Haddad profile, Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bassam-haddad-85619517/
  23. George Mason University, “Bassam S. Haddad.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://schar.gmu.edu/profiles/bhaddad
  24. Farid Farid, “Sinan Antoon: An Iraqi novelist living in continuous mourning,” The Guardian, March 03, 2015. Accessed September 30, 2022.  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/03/sinan-antoon-iraq-ave-maria-isis
  25. IMDb, “About Baghdad.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450958/
  26. [1] Mada Masr, “AUC President Lisa Anderson to step down in December,” June 21, 2015. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20150627212153/
  27. Mada Masr, “AUC President Lisa Anderson to step down in December,” June 21, 2015. Accessed September 30, 2022. http://www.madamasr.com/news/auc-president-lisa-anderson-step-down-december
  28. Columbia University in the City of New York, “Lisa Anderson.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/lisa-anderson
  29. Council on Foreign Relations, “Lisa Anderson.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20131218093816/
  30. Arab Studies Institute – Research and Education Methodologies (ASI-REM), About ASI-REM. Accessed September 30, 2022.

    http://www.asirem.org/about.html

  31. Notre Dame University, “Maria Bou Zeid.” Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.ndu.edu.lb/Library/Assets/Files/Documents/NDUFacultyProfiles/FHProfiles/Maria%20Bou%20Zeid.pdf
  32. Notre Dame University, “6 ways to debunk fake news amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” April 30, 2020. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.ndu.edu.lb/news-and-events/news/6-ways-to-debunk-fake-news-amid-the-covid-19-pandemic
  33. ProPublica, ASI-KP 990 page. Accessed October 2, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/461494522
  34. ProPublica, Open Society Institute 2013 990-PF. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/137029285/201423189349101912/IRS990PF
  35. ProPublica, Open Society Institute 2014 990-PF. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/137029285/201503179349100345/full
  36. InfluenceWatch, Foundation to Promote Open Society 2018 990-PF. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/03/FPOS-2018-Form-990.pdf
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: August 1, 2014

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $375,712 $366,554 $0 $0 N $375,712 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form 990 $66,831 $279,993 $0 $0 N $0 $0 $0 $57,500
    2018 Dec Form 990 $347,811 $343,319 $191,350 $2,391 N $347,811 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $467,604 $342,875 $193,901 $9,433 N $467,604 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $324,998 $349,791 $61,206 $1,468 N $324,998 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $435,762 $416,920 $85,491 $85,491 N $435,762 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $333,524 $290,378 $67,833 $67,833 N $333,512 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $182,509 $182,509 $28,567 $28,567 N $182,509 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Arab Studies Institute (ASI)

    10832 Oakcrest Court
    Fairfax, VA 22030