Wikipedia

Mafaz Al-Suwaidan

Mafaz Al-Suwaidan is a Kuwaiti-American academic and current doctoral candidate at Harvard University. She is also a producer and writer for American Muslims (2024),[1] a PBS film series about Muslims in America.[2]

Mafaz Al-Suwaidan
Born
Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
EducationHarvard University (PhD candidate)
Harvard Divinity School (MTS)
Emerson College (MFA)
Toronto Metropolitan University (BJourn)
SpouseHumood AlKhudher
FatherTareq Al-Suwaidan
Websitemafazalsuwaidan.com

Early and personal life

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Al-Suwaidan was born in Oklahoma, the Sooner state, to Islamic author and speaker, Tareq Al-Suwaidan,[3] [unreliable source?] a leader of Kuwait's Muslim Brotherhood.[4][5] Born in the US, she has also lived in Kuwait and Canada.[6]

In 2010, Mafaz married Kuwaiti singer/songwriter Humood AlKhudher.[7][unreliable source?]

Education

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Al-Suwaidan received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in 2011.[8] She then worked briefly as a journalist in Kuwait.[9][10][11] In 2016, she received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Emerson College, in Boston, Massachusetts.[12][6]

She earned a Master of Theological Study (MTS) degree from Harvard Divinity School in 2018.[13] She is currently a PhD candidate at Harvard University in Philosophy of Religion, focused on Islam and Modern Thought, with a secondary degree in African and African American Studies. She is also a member of the university's Committee on the Study of Religion.[14]

Activism

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Al-Suwaidan is and has long been a supporter of social justice, human rights, and specifically, Palestinian liberation, in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[15]

She has participated in conversations and writings about racism in the Arab world in context of the Black Lives Matter movement.[16][17] She started the #ArabsForBlackLives campaign with Egyptian-American community organizer, Rana Abdel Hamid, about how Arabs can work to fight against anti-Black racism.[18][19]

In 2021, when philosopher Cornel West had threatened to (and eventually did) leave Harvard after his request for tenure was denied; Al-Suwaidan, who had trained with West as a master's student, organized a letter of support for him, which was signed by more than 60 other doctoral candidates.[20]

She was one of the representatives of HGSU-UAW who wrote a letter in February 2024 to Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), on behalf of the UAW Arab Caucus, demanding the union divest from Israel.[21]

In March 2024, she withdrew her participation from a Lowell House panel on antisemitism and Islamophobia, following a lack of institutional support for the event.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Creative Team". American Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  2. ^ "The Project". American Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  3. ^ "Pro-Jihad Kuwaiti Islamic Scholar And Muslim Brotherhood Leader Tareq Al-Suwaidan: Muslims In The West Should Advocate Against Zionism On University Campuses — Like My Daughter At Harvard". MEMRI. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  4. ^ جدلية, Jadaliyya- (2012-04-18). "Kuwait's Muslim Brotherhood". Jadaliyya – جدلية. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  5. ^ "TV preacher fired for Brotherhood links". Al Jazeera. 2013-08-18. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  6. ^ a b Adams, Heather; Al-Suwaidan, Mafaz; Bains, Chamandeep; Mann, Sharon Cairns; Campbell, Catherine; Domenicucci, Julia; Fritz, M. Leanne; Fulton, Christina; Hausler, Kat (2015-08-04). Rozlyn: Short Fiction by Women Writers. Rozlyn Press. ISBN 978-0-9833260-2-1.
  7. ^ Mahmoud, Rowaida (2023-03-08). "من هي زوجة حمود الخضر". موقع نواعم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  8. ^ Vandezande, Luke (2011-02-09). "Egypt hits close to home". archive.ryersonian.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  9. ^ Al-Suwaidan, Mafaz (2011-07-14). "Poetry as a reflection of life". Kuwait Times. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-05-05 – via Issuu.
  10. ^ Al-Suwaidan, Mafaz (2011-07-15). "SPEAK up to be heard: 'People would rather suffer in "psy-lence" than get treatment'". Friday Times. Retrieved 2024-05-05 – via Issuu.
  11. ^ Nurulain, Lisa (2015-06-24). "Gambar Isteri Humood Alkhuder" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  12. ^ "Emersonian 2016". issuu.com. 2017-05-15. p. 104. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  13. ^ "2018 HDS Dean's Report by Harvard Divinity School". issuu.com. 2018-12-10. p. 33. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  14. ^ "Mafaz Al-Suwaidan". studyofreligion.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  15. ^ Al-Suwaidan, Mafaz (2008-05-30). "More than just a chic checkered scarf". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  16. ^ Daoudi, Safae. "Understanding Racism in the Arab World". The Daily Q. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  17. ^ Biskup, Holly-Rose (2020-08-21). "Black Lives Matter in the Middle East and North Africa". YDS. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  18. ^ "Missing in Plain Sight: Who Are the Afro-Arabs and Where Are They in the World?". Amaliah. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  19. ^ Hsieh, Eileen (2020-07-03). "Arab-Americans tackling anti-Blackness in the Middle East". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  20. ^ Krantz, Laura (2021-03-08). "Cornel West leaving Harvard teaching post after tenure dispute". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  21. ^ MLToday (2024-03-04). "UAW Arab Caucus Demands Stronger UAW Action on Palestine". Marxism-Leninism Today. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  22. ^ Montgomery, Asher J. (2024-03-21). "Lowell Panel on Islamophobia and Antisemitism Canceled After Panelists Withdraw". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
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