Suleiman Bakhit is a Jordanian entrepreneur who wants to see tolerance, opportunity and reform spread through the Arab world. His father, Marouf Bahkit, who happens to be Jordan's prime minister, shares those goals. But it is Suleiman who stands a better chance of achieving those ideals.
He's the CEO of Aranim Media Factory, a workshop producing comic books, digital strips, and social-media games. Their point is to entertain but more importantly to inspire Arab boys and girls to believe that real opportunities to be leaders are well within their grasp. His Amman company is one of the largest producers of comics in the Arab language for Arab kids. He stays out of politics and gives most of the comics away, thanks to backing from patrons in the region. "I'm a dealer," he says, "dealing in hope and tolerance."
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At least one-third of the people in the Middle East are under 15 and, while declining as a percentage of the total, it's a huge market waiting to be tapped. "I want to build the Arab Disney," he says.
I caught up with him this week at the TED Global conference in Edinburgh, where Suleiman was speaking as a TED Fellow. He's a wonderful storyteller, as you can tell from watching the video interview with him (below).
"I go to a lot of poor areas and ask the kids, 'Who are your role models?' Sometimes they say Zarqawi and Bin Laden. But in one neighborhood I gave them comics and when I went back a few months later; the superheroes were now their role models. It doesn't even have to be real people they look up to. There's a huge lack of positive role models in the region. Superheroes are an aspiration for what we want to be."
Comics are mostly what Aranim does today. It has sold 1.2 million copies since it started in 2006. Suleiman dreams a lot bigger. He is talking to Cartoon Network Arabia about shows based on his characters. This week launched its most ambitious project yet, a FarmVille-style social game called Happy Oasis. You can build your garden in traditional Islamic style. Characters by default offer visiting players a coffee, another Arab tradition. You can even play the game as a "hijab girl" complete with black veil. Suleiman didn't think of that idea. The character was created based on the wishes of Aranim's kid focus groups.
Suleiman's personal story is incredible. He was studying for his master's degree in human resources and cultural development at the University of Minnesota when 9/11 happened. A few months later he was attacked by some thugs in the Twin Cities because he looked "too Arab." He was attacked again in Amman after he moved there in 2006, this time for being such prominently a voice for moderation. The assault left a long scar across his left eye. He's a got a sense of humor about it. His Twitter handle is @scarfacejo.
As an entrepreneur and social activist, he's an inspiration.
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