University of Florida                                                   Gainesville, Florida

Department of Political Science

Ph.D. in Political Science, August 2005

Dissertation Title: Islam, Democracy, and Governance: Sudan and Morocco in a Comparative Perspective

Advisors: Prof. Goran Hyden and Prof. Michael Chege

 International Development Certificate, September 2000

M.A. in Political Science, May 2000

 Illinois Institute of Technology                                         Chicago, Illinois

M.S. in Civil Engineering, December 1991

 University of Khartoum                                                    Khartoum, Sudan

B.S. in Civil Engineering, August 1989

Received a Fulbright Grant in 2002 to conduct fieldwork in Morocco, and extended it to include Sudan as a comparative case study. I choose these two countries because they represent different approaches to dealing wit the tension between Islamization and Liberalization, mainly between the years 1985-2000. Sudan has the problem of southern Sudan; Morocco has the problem of Western Sahara. To the extent that each problem emasculated the country’s ability to do development -through its waste of valuable human and material resources, it forced Morocco, more so Sudan, to question their position from sovereignty, identity, and democracy.

Participated in a seminar coordinated by the Summer Institute on Africa for K-12 Teachers, 2001.“Towards a Theory of Innovative Teaching” was the topic of my talk in which I explained the difference between the informative and the imaginative parts of teaching: It is the professor’s role to enhance the analytical skills of students to travel well between the two poles.

Participated in an Ethnicity Panel at the African Studies Association, 2001. My paper - Construction of the Public Sphere: An Act of Devotion – later developed into a PhD thesis.

Received Mcknight Fellowship, 1998-2002, which required my work as a teaching assistant and hence gave me an opportunity to lead my own discussion groups in Comparative Politics and International Relations classes. I have taught Introduction to Islam and African Politics at the University of Florida

Member of American Political Science Association (APSA), Middle East Studies Association (MESA), and African Studies Association (ASA).

Received a link of transmission (ijaza) in Koranic studies at traditional schools in Mecca and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1994. My one-year training included memorizing and applying the “jazaria” rules, perfecting the enunciation of the twenty-eight Arabic alphabets, and reading variegate exegesis (tafseers) of the Qura’n.

Served as Structural Restoration Engineer with Carl Walker Engineers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, April/1992-April/1993. Duties included performing structural evaluations, developing plans and specifications for repairing parking structures. Performed design, analysis, and drawing of different types of commercial and institutional buildings during my time with ELN, Structural Engineers in Chicago, Illinois, May/1991-March/1992. Identified and characterized aquifers and geological units of limited permeability during my work as an Environmental Engineer with Sibdo Engineering Consultancy in Khartoum/Sudan, May/94-December/95.

Developed a Peace Model Village to serve the purpose of co-existence between displaced families of southern Sudan and rural dwellers of western Sudan. Later I took measures to make sure that such class project translates into reality. I Solicited funds from philanthropic agencies and supervised the completion of a water well project in Darfur, Sudan (2003), which provides three hundred families at minimum with water and grocery needs.

Founder of Muntada AL-Waleed, a scholarly circle that serves the purpose of cultural communication among peoples of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds in Gainesville.

U.S. Citizen.