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Mafaz Al-Suwaidan

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American academic, producer, and writer
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Mafaz Al-Suwaidan
BornTulsa, Oklahoma, United States
EducationHarvard University (PhD candidate)
Harvard Divinity School (MTS)
Emerson College (MFA)
Toronto Metropolitan University (BJourn)
FatherTareq Al-Suwaidan
Websitemafazalsuwaidan.com

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), a PBS film series of short documentary films.

Early and personal life

Al-Suwaidan was born in Oklahoma and spent some of her youth in Kuwait and Canada. Her father is Islamic author, Tareq Al-Suwaidan.

Education

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

She earned a Master of Theological Study (MTS) degree from Harvard Divinity School in 2018. 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.

She has been named as Dorothy Porter & Charles Harris Wesley Fellow for 2024—2025 by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research.

Activism

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.

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

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.

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.

In March 2024, a Lowell House panel discussion on Islamophobia and antisemitism featuring Al-Suwaidan, Rabbi Professor Shaul Magid, and Madeline J. Levy (a PhD student) was planned to take place. However, the event was cancelled after Al-Suwaidan, Lowell House Faculty Deans, and the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics withdrew. Lowell House had removed themselves as co-sponsors for the panel, after Alexander Kestenbaum, a student from the Harvard Divinity School, took to Twitter and alleged that "the event failed to include Jewish and Zionist voices."

References

  1. "Creative Team". American Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  2. "The Project". American Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  3. "HDS Viewbook by Harvard Divinity School". issuu.com. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. Vandezande, Luke (2011-02-09). "Egypt hits close to home". archive.ryersonian.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  6. Al-Suwaidan, Mafaz (2011-07-14). "Poetry as a reflection of life". Kuwait Times. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-05-05 – via Issuu.
  7. 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.
  8. Nurulain, Lisa (2015-06-24). "Gambar Isteri Humood Alkhuder" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  9. "Emersonian 2016". issuu.com. 2017-05-15. p. 104. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  10. "2018 HDS Dean's Report by Harvard Divinity School". issuu.com. 2018-12-10. p. 33. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  11. "Mafaz Al-Suwaidan". studyofreligion.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  12. "Mafaz Al-Suwaidan". hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  13. Al-Suwaidan, Mafaz (2008-05-30). "More than just a chic checkered scarf". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  14. Daoudi, Safae. "Understanding Racism in the Arab World". The Daily Q. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  15. Biskup, Holly-Rose (2020-08-21). "Black Lives Matter in the Middle East and North Africa". YDS. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  16. "Missing in Plain Sight: Who Are the Afro-Arabs and Where Are They in the World?". Amaliah. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  17. Hsieh, Eileen (2020-07-03). "Arab-Americans tackling anti-Blackness in the Middle East". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  18. Krantz, Laura (2021-03-08). "Cornel West leaving Harvard teaching post after tenure dispute". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  19. MLToday (2024-03-04). "UAW Arab Caucus Demands Stronger UAW Action on Palestine". Marxism-Leninism Today. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  20. Montgomery, Asher J. (2024-03-21). "Lowell Panel on Islamophobia and Antisemitism Canceled After Panelists Withdraw". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  21. Montgomery, Asher J. (2024-03-21). "Lowell Panel on Islamophobia and Antisemitism Canceled After Panelists Withdraw". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
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