Prominent Syrian Philosopher Sadiq Jalal al-Azm Dies

Prominent Syrian philosopher and intellectual Sadiq Jalal al-Azm has passed away in Germany after a long battle with brain cancer, his son said.

Al-Azm was 82.

Amr al-Azm told The Associated Press via Skype that his father died Sunday night in Berlin, two months after his health sharply deteriorated.

Al-Azm, who lectured at several universities around the world and held a Ph. D. from Yale in Modern European Philosophy, left Syria a year before the country's crisis began in March 2011.

He was a critic of the government.

Al-Azm's most famous book was "The Critique of Religious Thought" that led to him being sued for denigrating Islam.

He is survived by his wife, Iman Shaker, and two sons, Amr and Ivan.