Schrier is from Deer Park, New York, and attended Hofstra University, where he was an English major who also studied film production.
[4] In late December 2012, Schrier was captured by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, while traveling on the road between Aleppo and the Turkish border.
[8][9][10][11] His book The Dawn Prayer (Or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison): A Memoir (ISBN 1944648887) was published on April 3, 2018.
In 2018 Shrier was featured on the National Geographic television show Locked Up Abroad in the episode 'Escape from Al Qaeda'.
[6] In January 2020, Schrier filed a lawsuit against Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), as he claimed that they provide sponsorship for al-Qaeda.