Bassam Al-Fayeed

Bassam "Barry" Al -Fayeed is the youngest son of the dictator Khaled Al-Fayeed and the younger brother ofJamal Al-Fayeed . Bassam fled Abbudin in a self-imposed exile at the age of 16, relocating to Los Angeles. There he became a pediatrician and started a family with his wife, Molly Al-Fayeed. He has two children, one son, Sammy, and a daughter, Emma. Bassam refused to return to his home country for twenty years until finally, under pressure from his wife, he took his family to Abbudin to attend his nephew's wedding.

Unlike his hot-headed brother Jamal, Bassam is a calm, good-natured, rational person. He is gentle at heart and cares for his patients greatly, but at some moments he shows that he can be be cold, brutal and cunning. Having grown up in the United States he is more liberal in his thinking than his Middle Eastern family and takes pride in the fact he is not as brutal as them. However many people say that Bassam is more like his father than Jamal, something that disturbs him deeply. He is a very reserved person, telling his wife almost none of his worries or troubles, something that causes turmoil in the marriage.

Biography
As a child, Bassam was often neglected by his father, who instead favored Bassam's older brother, Jamal, as he was next in line to inherit the Presidency. Khaled would often pay attention solely to Jamal, teaching him how to behave and act like a President, and even letting him cut the ribbon at the opening of a new bridge in Ma'an. When the bridge opening ceremony was attacked by terrorists, Khaled tackled Jamal to safety, leaving Bassam to feel the full force of the explosion (though Bassam was unharmed).

Later Khaled took his sons to Ma'an, where his secret police were cracking down on the populace living there for allegedly sheltering the terrorists. In the middle of a village raid, Khaled attempted to force Jamal to shoot a villager and make him comfortable with causing a person's death. Jamal, however, fled back to the car in tears, unable to kill the man, and as Khaled shouted at Jamal to get out of the car, Bassam stepped out of the car, picked up the gun, and calmly killed the man, much to the interest of his father. He did this so that his father would stop yelling at Jamal and would leave him alone. This incident haunts Bassam and stayed in his father's memory.

At the age of 16 Bassam made the decision to move to the United States, specifically Los Angeles. He did this despite a girl's (Leila) pleas to stay, and she attempted to seduce him so he would remain in Abbudin. Leila would later go on to marry Jamal. While in the United States Bassam did all he could to rid himself of his Middle-Eastern past. He started calling himself "Barry" and watched thousands of hours of American television so he would lose his accent. Later he became a pediatrician and met his wife, Molly Al-Fayeed, and had two children with her. He never returned to Abbudin for twenty years, though sometimes his family would come to the U.S. to visit. He also keeps track of current events happening in Abbudin, though he keeps this to himself.

Season 1
Bassam Al-Fayeed makes the decision to visit Abbudin to attend his nephew's wedding, despite his obvious discomfort at returning home. He does this despite the fact that there are numerous anti-Al-Fayeed protests in the nation, something his American family is well aware of. After Bassam realizes that his family knows nothing of his home, he decides to take them there. Finally, after his wife complains to him that they've never visited the country he's from, Bassam makes the decision to attend his nephew's wedding.

They land in Abbudin and are greeted by Jamal, who escorts them to the palace. Bassam and his family arrive at the palace, where Bassam has a brief reunion with his father. His father tells him of the troubles he faces, and how the dictators around him are being toppled, but warmly welcomes Bassam home. Bassam also meets numerous other members of Abbudin's political scene, including his uncle, General Tariq, the American Ambassador, John Tucker, and the family's aide, Aziz.

Later, at his nephew's bachelor party, Jamal (under orders from his father) takes Bassam to resolve an issue concerning a terrorist attack on his nephew's wedding. Jamal brutally beats the uncle of the terrorist, Ihab Rashid, whom they had paid to keep Ihab in line, but failed. While Jamal wants to simply torture the man, Bassam comes up with a more practical solution. Bassam's solution works, and no one attacks the wedding. Later during the wedding, Bassam's father has a stroke, and asks to see Bassam. On his deathbed, he tells Bassam that "without you, they'll kill us all" and that he made a mistake by naming Jamal his heir, and that "it should have been you." Khaled later dies, and Bassam attempts to flee the country with his family so he won't get pulled into the nation's politics. After Jamal gets in a car accident trying to stop Bassam from leaving, Bassam reluctantly decides to stay.

After Jamal's recovery Bassam decides to stay for a long time in Abbudin as "Special Counsel to the President." Jamal takes Bassam's advice over all others, including his uncle, Tariq. One of the first issues Jamal faces is the cause of a car accident, which was one of his mistresses attempting to kill him. After her husband testifies that Ihab Rashid, the same terrorist who planned to attack the wedding, Jamal orders a raid that captures Ihab and numerous other terrorists. However, Bassam discovers that Ihab was not behind the assassination attempt and that the mistress's husband had actually orchestrated the assassination attempt in retaliation for Jamal raping his wife. Bassam confronts Jamal over this and Jamal apologizes, saying he wishes to start over. Jamal insists that they should execute Ihab anyway but Bassam refuses to execute a man for a crime he did not commit. At Bassam's urging, Jamal releases Ihab and has the husband executed, but only after promising to take care of his children.

Jamal and Bassam next have to face the anniversary of the Ma'an Gas Attack after a man immolates himself on the main square. Following the self-immolation, a large mob forms on the square and urged on by Ihab Rashid, they begin to call for the resignation of the Al-Fayeeds. Tariq insists on using military force to clear the square but Bassam instead urges Jamal to make a speech apologizing for the attack. However the mob attacks Jamal's caravan as it enters the square and Jamal vows to clear the square using force.

In desperation, Bassam visits Ihab's exiled father, Sheikh Rashid, and persuades him to return to Abbudin to mend the conflict between the Rashids and the Al-Fayeeds. Sheikh Rashid does so and calms down the crowd but demands to speak to Jamal. Jamal acquiesces and prepares to offer the Sheikh generous terms in exchange for peace, including nationalizing Ma'an's natural resources and giving the Sheikh a seat on the Presidential Council. However, the Sheikh counters with a demand for free democratic elections and, again, at Bassam's urging Jamal agrees. Bassam attempts to have Jamal build numerous schools, hospitals, and roads to gain the public's support but despite all his attempts the people still seem to favor the Sheikh.

At the ceremony where Jamal will amend the constitution to include free-elections the Sheikh taunts Jamal about Bassam being a better leader, and in a fit of rage Jamal smashes the Sheikh's head into a toilet, apparently killing him. The Sheikh survives, however, and Jamal is forced to admit what he did to Bassam and ask him to finish the job. Bassam initially refuses, disgusted, but after realizing that the Sheikh living will ensure Jamal (and the rest of the family's demise) he kills the Sheikh with poison in the hospital.

At this point, Bassam realizes Jamal's rule will never be peaceful and he decides to initiate a coup to depose Jamal and instate himself as interim President. He gains the support of the United States (through Tucker) as well as numerous prominent Abbudin officials, including Hakim (owner of all media in the country), Colonel Ziad (Tariq's second-in-command), and even Aziz. Bassam plans to send his family to safety in the United States and have Jamal and his family arrested and sent into exile. Bassam plans to have Jamal arrested after they return from a fishing trip.

However John Tucker tells Bassam he must first get rid of Tariq, so Bassam frames Tariq for planning a coup against Jamal and has him arrested and his senior officers killed (though on Jamal's, not Bassam's, orders) On the day of the coup Jamal and Bassam go fishing where Jamal laments about being the son of a dictator and how he longs for a simpler life. When they return from the trip they are met by armed soldiers and Bassam begins to apologize to Jamal, but the soldiers are led by a freed Tariq. Jamal reveals that Hakim told him about the coup and orders Bassam's arrest. Despite pleas from his mother to send Bassam back to the United States in permanent exile Jamal, at the urging of his wife Leila and Tariq, decides to order Bassam's death.