Wikipedia

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

For the 14th-century Sultan of the Maldives, see Ahmed Shihabuddin of the Maldives. Not to be confused with Shahabuddin Ahmed.

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin (Arabic: أحمد شهاب الدين; born September 16, 1984) is an American-born Kuwaiti journalist, actor and media personality of Palestinian descent.[5]

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
Shihab-Eldin in 2014
Born (1984-09-16) September 16, 1984 (age 41)[1][2]
Berkeley, California, United States[3]
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Kuwait (until 2026)
EducationColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism[4]
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • actor
  • producer
Employers
Criminal charges
  • False reporting
  • harm to the national security of Kuwait
  • mobile phone misuse
Criminal status
Released, not fully acquitted
Awards
Websitewww.ahmedshihabeldin.com

Career

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Shihab-Eldin at South by Southwest 2012

Shihab-Eldin started his career at PBS,[6] and also formerly worked at Huffington Post, The New York Times and Vice,[1][7] and, after joining Al Jazeera English in 2009,[6] was a senior reporter for Al Jazeera Plus from 2017 through 2020.[8][9] He produced several documentaries for Wide Angle on PBS and others for Vice on HBO.[1]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shihab-Eldin began moving towards other creative pursuits, creating a parody account on the short video platform TikTok and suggesting that he might begin podcasting.[5] He replied, in character, to a video by the Instagram and YouTube star Faiza Rammuny and it went viral, launching this leg of his career.[7] He published his first book, Demanding Dignity, in 2021.[1]

In 2023, he produced and presented an investigative documentary Queer Egypt Under Attack for BBC News focussing on the treatment of LGBT people in Egypt.[10] The same year, he was featured in the Jordanian film The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was awarded in the short film category at the El Gouna Film Festival.[6] He then acted in the 2024 queer short film All the Men I Met but Never Dated,[11] and in the 2025 film Palestine 36, in the role of Maher.[12]

Having previously been an adjunct professor in Digital Media at his alma mater, the Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism,[6] since December 2025 Shihab-Eldin has been teaching Storytelling and Communication at the University of Bari, Italy.[13]

Awards and recognition

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In 2008, Shihab-Eldin won a Webby Award for master's digital media project, "Defining Middle Ground: The Next Generation of Muslim New Yorkers."[14]

In 2012, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Most Innovative Program in 2012, for creating and co-hosting the Al Jazeera interactive talk show The Stream.[6]

In 2023, Shihab-Eldin won an Amnesty International UK Media Award in Digital Creativity for his BBC documentary Queer Egypt Under Attack,[15] which also earned him a British Journalism Award for Social Affairs, Diversity & Inclusion.[6]

Shihad-Eldin speaking at a protest against the Gaza genocide in Hyde Park, Sydney in December 2024.

In December 2024, he shared Amnesty International Australia's inaugural Human Rights Defender Award with Palestinian journalists Bisan Owda, Plestia Alaqad, and Anas Al-Sharif for "the significant impact of their fearless reporting on the alleged genocide in Gaza, their innovative use of social media and citizen journalism to challenge traditional narratives and their ability to inspire action for justice."[16]

Imprisonment

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On March 3, 2026, Shihab-Eldin was detained by Kuwaiti authorities for resharing news articles about the Iran war;[13][17] the previous day, he had posted images of a U.S. fighter jet crashing over the country.[18] The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that he had not been seen publicly in Kuwait, where he was visiting family, since March 2, and that he was under arrest over accusations of "spreading false information," "harming national security" and "misusing his mobile phone;"[13][19] the incident occurred as part of a wider wave of crackdowns targeting journalists across different Gulf states amid the war.[17][18][20]

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, confirmed on March 14 that he had been imprisoned by Kuwaiti authorities for his work, and asked that he be released.[21] The following month, the CPJ opened a petition to pressure Kuwait to liberate him "immediately and unconditionally."[19] The University of Bari, where he was working at the time of his arrest, joined calls for his release.[13] On April 23, the CPJ and Shihab-Eldin's lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher confirmed he had been acquitted of all charges and was soon to be released.[20][22]

On April 29, 2026, an Emiri decree appeared in the official gazette Al Kuwait Al Yawm with a list of citizens who had been stripped of their Kuwaiti citizenship, which included Shihab-Eldin's name.[23] The same day, Jodie Ginsberg from CPJ relayed a new statement from his lawyers that he had not been fully acquitted, with the prosecution having appealed the disposal of the charges.[24][25]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 Al-Suwaihel, Malak (July 18, 2021). "Civic Activism & Digital Nomadism: A Working List of Palestinian Creatives and Activists". Khaleejesque. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  2. ↑ Shihab-Eldin, Ahmed [@ASE] (September 17, 2025). "#GameOverIsrael Happy Birthday To Me" (Tweet). Retrieved September 18, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  3. ↑ Jalabi, Raya (March 2013). "Shaking things Up". Bespoke.
  4. ↑ "Palestinian-American Challenges Old Narratives: Interview with Ahmed Shihab-Eldin". Palestine Square. July 20, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Nagy, Andrew (November 2020). "Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Gets Loose". GQ Middle East.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ahmed Shihab-Eldin". Athens Democracy Forum. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Barr, Jeremy (June 3, 2013). "Ahmed Shihab-Eldin out at HuffPost Live". Politico. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ Lemon, Jason (March 27, 2017). "Ahmed Shihab-Eldin tells us about his love for dancing and a new thing he wants to try". StepFeed. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Harvard, Sarah A. (December 20, 2016). "Emmy-nominated journalist refused Uber service for being Arab". Mic. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  10. ↑ Queer Egypt Under Attack, January 30, 2023, retrieved March 14, 2023
  11. ↑ Schmidt, Ben (August 7, 2024). "Ahmed Eldin Shines in 'All the Men I Met But Never Dated'; Short Film to Premiere at Out South Queer Film Festival". The Knockturnal. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  12. ↑ Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, retrieved April 14, 2026
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Detenuto in Kuwait da più di un mese il pluripremiato giornalista Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. L'appello dell'Università di Bari (dove insegna): 'Chiediamo che sia immediatamente rilasciato'". L'Espresso (in Italian). April 15, 2026. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Ahmed Shihab-Eldin". National Conference for Media Reform. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Amnesty International UK Media Awards 2024 winners announced". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Human Rights Defender Awards". Amnesty International Australia. December 12, 2024.
  17. 1 2 Abdel Kouddous, Sharif (April 14, 2026). "Prominent Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Has Been in Jail for Six Weeks in Kuwait, Faces Trial in Special Tribunal". Drop Site News. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  18. 1 2 Zhang, Sharon (April 14, 2026). "Kuwait Has Detained American Journalist Who Shared US Warplane Crash for 6 Weeks". Truthout. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "CPJ calls on Kuwait to release US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin". Committee to Protect Journalists. April 14, 2026. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  20. 1 2 Gritten, David (April 23, 2026). "US-Kuwaiti journalist held in Kuwait over social media posts acquitted, lawyers say". BBC. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  21. ↑ Albanese, Francesca (March 14, 2026). "Ahmed has been imprisoned by Kuwaiti authorities for his work since March 3rd 2026" – via X.
  22. ↑ Golgowski, Nina (April 23, 2026). "Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Acquitted After Arrest In Kuwait, Watchdog Group Says". HuffPost. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Decision 7/43 of the year 2026 on the Loss of Kuwaiti Citizenship". Al Kuwait Al Yawm. Archived from the original on April 29, 2026. Retrieved April 29, 2026 – via X.
  24. ↑ "Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, subjected to 'grave violations' of fundamental rights, has Kuwaiti citizenship revoked". Committee to Protect Journalists. April 29, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  25. ↑ "EldinStatementApril29 | Jodie Ginsberg". Retrieved May 22, 2026 – via LinkedIn.
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