Burhan Kassar
Burhan Kassar (Gharbaic: كسار برهان, Transliteration: Burhān Kassar), also known by his laqab al-Hakim, (22 April 1894 - 29 January 1973) was a Fahrani politician who, together with labor organizers Amin Sahrawi and Irfan Nasrallah, founded the Fahrani Socialist Party in response to government crackdowns during the Mining Wars. Kassar served as General Secretary of the Party for three consecutive terms between 1945 and 1957, working to professionalize internal procedures and campaigning, and is widely credited with laying the groundwork for the socialist victory in the general elections of 1954, which brought Ramel Yassin to power.
Biography
Early Life
Burhan Kassar was born on 22 April 1894, in Sumeira, to a working-class family. His father, Rahim Kassar, was a cobbler who was known to frequent coffeehouses in the Sabain District, a byword for liberal and nationalist activism in that time period. His mother, Maysoon Badat, was a homemaker and laundress whose family had immigrated from the rustic village of Dhafir in Khimyariyyah Province following the failure of the family's mill. Kassar was the eldest of three children, and was named for his paternal grandfather.
Kassar was enrolled in public school, where he achieved high marks, even while apprenticing with his father, and was recommended for a scholarship. While attending the University of Sumeira, Kassar, who had decided to study medicine, became interested in politics, attending several lectures presented by the sociologist and political theorist Mustafa Ali Itani.
Medical Career
Marriage and Family
Kassar met his future wife Jouri Basha while attending a lecture by presented art critic George Khalil al-Dahdah and feminist Sara Karman on the historical impact of the male gaze in sculpture at the al-Jamahir Coffeehouse in 1917. The pair struck up a friendship following an introduction by Karman who had mentored both of them during their time at the University of Sumeira and, according to friends, talked of politics, art, and literature until the early hours of the next morning. Their early correspondences do not indicate any romantic feelings or courtship before 1 June 1919 when Basha returned to Sumeira after completing her masters thesis at the Silwan Women's College. Kassar allegedly asked her to attend a jazz concert with him. This began a passionate two-year courtship, during which time the couple rented a flat in Rayam together.
The pair were married on 1 June 1921 in a private ceremony attended by close friends. They had three children. Their daughter, Janan Kassar, became a journalist and human rights activist, while their youngest son, Rashad Kassar, was killed fighting as a partisan against the dictatorial regime of Sabir Afzal Rahmani. Their grandson, Imran Kassar, is a member of the Majlis.