How to pronounce “askar” in English

I work specifically within an engineering org focused in on diversity, equity, and inclusion.And I'm so, so happy today, because we have a very, very special guest here-- "New York Times" best-selling author Mateo Askaripour.And I will correct that name one more time probably in just a moment, but we have the wonderful Mateo here, who is going to be talking about his debut novel, "Black Buck."