Raheem Kassam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raheem Kassam
|
|
|---|---|
At the 2018 CPAC
|
|
| Born | 1 August 1986 London, England
|
| Alma mater | University of Westminster |
| Political party | Reform UK (2019–present) UK Independence Party (2014–2019) |
Raheem J. Kassam (born 1 August 1986) is a British political activist. He has worked as an editor for news websites and as an advisor to political leaders. He was the editor-in-chief of Breitbart News London and a chief advisor to former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage. Kassam also served as the global editor-in-chief of Human Events and is currently the editor-in-chief of The National Pulse.
| Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Early Life and Education
Raheem Kassam was born in White City, West London. His parents were immigrants from Tanzania with Indian backgrounds. He grew up in a Muslim family but later stated he had not practiced the religion for many years. He once identified as an atheist but now identifies as a Christian.
Kassam attended Bishopshalt School and St Helen's College in Hillingdon. He then studied politics at the University of Westminster. Before starting his career in media and politics, he briefly worked for a financial company called Lehman Brothers.
Career in Politics and Media
Kassam has been involved in various political and media roles. He was a member of the youth group Conservative Future. He also worked with Student Rights, a group that campaigned against extremism on university campuses. For example, he spoke out against the London School of Economics for accepting money from the government of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.
In 2011, Kassam worked as a campaigns director at the Henry Jackson Society, which is a group that studies foreign policy. He has also managed election campaigns in both the UK and the US.
Kassam was an editor for The Commentator, a blogging platform. He has been a member of several conservative think tanks, including the Bow Group and the Middle East Forum. He also helped set up the London version of the American news website Breitbart News with James Delingpole. He left Breitbart in May 2018.
In June 2018, Kassam helped organize a large demonstration in London. This event supported Tommy Robinson, an activist.
In 2018, Kassam joined the Institute of Social, Economic and Political Sciences in Lyon, France. This institute was founded by French politicians.
In March 2019, Kassam and a lawyer named Will Chamberlain bought Human Events, an American conservative online publication. Kassam became the global editor-in-chief when it relaunched on May 1. He left Human Events on August 8 of that year.
In July 2019, some politicians in Australia called for Kassam to be prevented from entering their country. They expressed concerns about his past statements.
In October 2019, Kassam started co-hosting a daily radio show and podcast called War Room: Impeachment with Steve Bannon. This show discussed the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.
During the 2020 US election, Kassam shared claims made by Donald Trump that questioned the fairness of the election results.
Political Beliefs
Raheem Kassam describes himself as a nationalist. His political views are often described as being on the right side of the political spectrum.
Kassam has been a strong critic of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
UK Independence Party Involvement
After being involved with the Conservative Party, Kassam joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 2014. He quickly became a senior advisor to the party leader, Nigel Farage.
Running for Leader
In October 2016, after the UKIP leader Diane James resigned, Kassam decided to run to become the new leader. He said he wanted to "stop infighting within UKIP" and "address the deep cultural and social divides in this country." His campaign slogan was "Make UKIP great again." He aimed to increase UKIP's membership.
Kassam decided to withdraw from the leadership contest on October 31, 2016, just hours before nominations closed. He felt he had a low chance of winning due to not enough money for his campaign. He also mentioned concerns about media attention on his family.
Later Activities
In his October 2016 interview, Kassam suggested that Donald Trump would be a better President of the United States than Hillary Clinton. A few days after the 2016 United States presidential election, Kassam went with Nigel Farage to meet President-elect Trump at Trump Tower. This made Farage the first British politician to meet Trump after the election.
In December 2019, Kassam became the editor-in-chief of The National Pulse, an American news website.
Reform UK
Kassam advised Nigel Farage to remove the party chair Zia Yusuf. This was done to help end disagreements between Farage and another colleague, Rupert Lowe.
Images for kids
-
Raheem Kassam at the 2018 CPAC
See also
In Spanish: Raheem Kassam para niños
