Nasser Beydoun, the former executive director of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce and newly appointed vice president of multicultural marketing for Detroit-based Bassett and Bassett Communication Managers and Counselors is sharing his story about being trapped in Qatar after a business agreement in 2007 with a restaurant chain had financial difficulties.

Nasser Beydoun

The book, The Glass Palace, Illusions of Freedom and Democracy in Qatar chronicles Beydoun’s experiences in the Persian Gulf nation, and his own personal opinions about its government. 

He wasn’t allowed to leave the country, and was being held there. The 2007 business deal led to a civil suit against Beydoun in 2009, and he was charged with embezzlement, mismanagement, raising his own salary, and signing contracts without authorization by the chain, Wataniya Restaurants.

Since then all the charges have been dismissed, and he was exonerated this year. In a phone interview with The Arab American News Beydoun said he was in Qatar from March 2007 to October 2010. Beydoun indicated that the book questions the United States’ relationship with Qatar which is one of its allies, and challenges the assertion that it’s a democracy in addition to pointing out that being a U.S. ally may be totally unrelated to any notion of human rights or personal liberties.

Beydoun says the book also raises concern about Qatar’s role in the region, voting rights there among other issues. “It’s a total monarchy,” he said. The book is now available online on Amazon.com for purchase. After being exonerated Beydoun filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court seeking damages from the chain, both his reputation and finances, as well as pain and suffering caused to his family.

The whole ordeal weighed heavily on Beydoun’s family, leaving his wife and children uncertain of when they would see him again. Beydoun admits he wasn’t sure how long it would be until he returned. “There’s always that uncertainty, you never know,” he said. “I was hoping the truth would come out.” He says much of his time in Qatar centered around legal issues and trying to communicate with his family. Beydoun said many people in Qatar were friendly and reached out to him. Since returning from Qatar Beydoun has started a new career at Bassett and Bassett Communication Managers and Counselors, and opened up one of the state’s newest retail stores, the Bargain Club along with his business partner prominent community member Chaker Aoun. The store opened Nov. 2, with more expected to launch around metro-Detroit in 2013.  “I wasn’t about to let it consume me, I had to move on,” he said.