While serving as editor of the Neenah High School student newspaper, Zuhdi Jasser enjoyed stirring up controversy with his weekly column, “On the Right Track.”
Since graduating in 1985, Jasser continues to speak out for his beliefs while proving the title of his column prophetic for someone of his achievements.
The son of Syrian immigrants who fled the country’s oppressive regime in the mid-1960’s for freedom, Jasser was born in Appleton and moved to Neenah at six years old. At Neenah High School, he participated in chess, debate, forensics, mock trial, academic decathlon, student congress, tennis and music. He was also president of National Honor Society as a senior and graduated in the top 10 of his class.
He attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned his medical doctorate from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Jasser served 11 years as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, earning the Meritorious Service Medal. His tours of duty included serving as Medical Department Head aboard the U.S.S. El Paso which deployed to Somalia during Operation Restore Hope; Chief Resident at Bethesda Naval Hospital; and Staff Internist for the Office of the Attending Physician to the U. S. Congress. A past president of the Arizona Medical Association, Jasser currently has a private practice specializing in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology.
Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, which seeks to counter political Islam, the ideology that fuels radical Islamists. He authored A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith, and is a regular contributor on national media outlets such as CNN, CBS, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and BBC. Jasser frequently briefs members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on the threat of political Islam. He was appointed to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom by Sen. Mitch McConnell where he currently serves as commissioner.
Jasser co-founded a group called Save Syria Now!, which calls for immediate action to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad and bring true liberty to Syrian people. He briefed members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Syria in 2011 and 2013.
Jasser and his wife, Gada, have three children and reside in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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