Sam Gerrans is an English writer and independent thinker with backgrounds in languages, media, strategic communications, and technologies. He is driven by commitment to ultimate meaning and focused on authentic approaches to both Realpolitik and revelation.
Key projects:
He holds a degree in Russian Language and Literature from Birmingham University, and speaks Russian fluently.
He has a professional background in high-level international public relations, and extensive writing experience in the Russian context.
He has lived in Russia for more than twenty years, and has held Russian citizenship since 2002.
2020 – 2022
The Mysterious Letters of the Qur’an: A Complete Solution presents a convincing, cohesive, and logical description of the purposes and operations of those letters of a non-lexical character in the Qur’an which are called in Arabic al ḥurūf al muqaṭṭaʿāt (or the cut or disjointed letters), and called more generally in English the mysterious letters. Understanding of these letters has eluded Muslims for over 1,400 years, their default position being that any attempt to decode them is either futile or blasphemous.
Sam Gerrans submits his solution to this longstanding enigma in support of — and by way of authentication of — his broader project as summarised in The God Protocol.
Published 2022.
See quranite.com.
The God Protocol
2020 – 2022
While The Qur’an: A Complete Revelation exposes unambiguous tensions between Traditionalist Islam and the book that religion claims as its foundational scripture, that result was not Gerrans’ motivation for writing it. Sam Gerrans believes in God and accepts the veracity of the Qur’an. His identification of Traditionalist Islam’s preoccupations as a usurping narrative is a function of his process of due diligence upon the contents of the Qur’an rather than his primary interest. The motivation driving The Qur’an: A Complete Revelation was to provide a textual corpus in the English language which could supply a legitimate formal basis for his principal objective which is described now in full in his book The God Protocol.
The God Protocol identifies that mechanism in the Qur’an by which miscreant ruling elites of the past were made accountable before God and applies the same principle to the worldwide ruling elite of today.
First Edition, 2021.
Second Edition, 2022.
See quranite.com.
The Qur’an: A Complete Revelation
2014 – 2022
The Qur’an claims to be a complete revelation to mankind from the creator of the heavens and the earth.
Traditionalist Islam, while paying lip service to the Qur’an, is predicated chiefly upon other texts — the aḥādīth — and interpretations and schools of thought derived from the same, the result of which is an ossified and increasingly discredited cultural narrative.
Whereas most translations and expositions of the Qur’an assume Traditionalist Islam’s conclusions, his principal work The Qur’an: A Complete Revelation is built upon a system of hermeneutics in which preference is given to definitions originating in the Qur’an itself and to values derived by processes of pan-textual analysis. Values for key terms thus demonstrated are enforced across the text and documented.
First Edition, 2017.
Second Edition, 2021.
Third Edition, 2022.
See quranite.com.
August 2015 – November 2016
Contributed weekly columns on freelance basis to the Op-Edge department of Russia Today.
Briefed to write authentic, original copy to stimulate debate.
Succeeded in becoming one of RT’s most compelling writers, consistently generating traction among readers and on social media.
January 2010 – July 2014
Opened and ran boutique PR consultancy helping companies in Moscow meet international communications requirements.
Services included: consultancy, translation, editing, and original copywriting.
Worked with the following either directly or via existing agencies: Borjomi, First Russian Recovery, InterRao, Microsoft, Mikhailov & Partners, Nomos Bank, Nordgold, Onetwotrip.com, Perimetrix, Rosinter, Russian Railways, Mikhail Prokhorov, Samsung, Seagate, Sollers, Telenor, TKK.
The nature of much of this work is confidential and covered by non-disclosure agreements; examples of non-confidential work are provided below:
September 2010 – November 2013
Devised, produced, wrote and presented two successful, popular weekly radio shows for the Russian state international English-language radio station Radio Sputnik (formerly Voice of Russia).
Total output: 180 shows.
Home from Home: an interview with a different Moscow expat each week about their reasons for moving to Russia and their experiences in the country: sample show | all shows.
Inside Out: a weekly op-ed radio journal describing the underbelly of life in Russia from the point of view of someone deeply embedded in the life and culture: sample show | all shows.
September 2008 – August 2010
Engaged by Russia’s premier strategic communications company Mikhailov & Partners as client interface and personal consultant to high-profile Russian clients needing to engage effectively with target audiences via Western media.
The Holmes Report lists Mikhailov & Partners as following:
Number 1 Communications Consultancy in Central and Eastern Europe Mikhailov & Partners advises Russian and global business leaders, helping them to take and maintain the strategic initiative in building their reputations and managing communications.
The role focused on the creation and management of bespoke international campaigns for high-profile clients.
Responsible for annual budgets of one million USD with three direct reports and multiple out-of-house teams.
Key clients and projects below.
2004 – 2008
Wrote cinema reviews off and on as a side gig. These focused on the English-language film scene in Moscow at the time, first for Expat.ru and then for The Moscow News.
2000 – 2008
Wrote advertising, editorial, and product copy for both Western and Russian companies, primarily in the areas of software development, investment banking, and publishing.