http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/al-assad Questions tagged with 'al-assad' at Ask MetaFilter. Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:33:54 -0800 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:33:54 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/51602/Why%2Ddrop%2Dthe%2Ddefinite%2Darticle%2Din%2Dan%2DArabic%2Dname Why do some media outlets refer to the Syrian leader as "Bashar Assad" instead of as "Bashar Al-Assad"? When I lived in Syria, the definite article al was clearly part of his last name and was always used. I started noticing some media outlets dropping the definite article after a local paper here in the US "corrected" a letter to the editor i sent by dropping the 'Al'.<br> <br> Is there something I'm missing? I am hoping some of the journalists or more media savvy types in here might have caught on. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2006:site.51602 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:33:54 -0800 al-assad assad bashar syria mulligan