Mohammad J. Al Yousef is a former research associate at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He currently concentrates on Middle East conflicts, with special emphasis on the role of religion, identity, civil society, and U.S. foreign policy in the region. Al Yousef holds an MA in conflict resolution and a certificate in Arab studies from Georgetown University and a BA in international security and U.S. politics from San Diego State University. In addition, he holds a certificate in conflict resolution from Tbilisi State University (Georgia), studying the conflicts and politics of the Caucasus.
Al Yousef served as a teaching assistant for international relations courses in the Department of Government at Georgetown University in 2018. While at Georgetown, he served as a board member of the National Union of Kuwaiti Students, wherein he represented 16,000 Kuwaiti students to the U.S. government and to the Embassy of Kuwait in Washington, DC. In 2016, Al Yousef worked with Kuwait News Agency as an editor and translator.
Analysis
Controlling the Narrative: Censorship Laws in the Gulf
Kuwaiti activism against book censorship yields a partial victory, but expression remains strictly regulated through press and publication laws across the Gulf.
Women’s Nabati Poetry Captures Hearts
Inspired by love, longing, and the desert environment, female poets have long contributed to Nabati poetry. Now, women are breaking norms, refuting the notion that women and men are on different levels in poetry.
Mental Health in the Gulf: Reforms and Challenges
While youth-led awareness campaigns and public health education are shifting the landscape of mental health care in the Gulf, sociocultural challenges persist.
Ramadan Series Have Provoked an Internal Gulf Debate on Social Normalization With Israel
Public opposition to social and political normalization with Israel appears to be holding fast among most nationals, even as some governments allow more room for advocates of Gulf-Israel relations to make their case.
Ramadan Adapts to the Pandemic in the Gulf
Gulf countries have celebrated the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan under unprecedented and strict precautionary measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Yet Gulf citizens are still finding ways to pray communally and sustain community.
Creating Saudi Arabia’s “Visual Majlis”: Ali al-Kalthami on Telfaz11 and the Future of Saudi Film
Saudi filmmakers came late to the craft, limited by the lack of opportunities for training and imposed by Saudi Arabia’s conservative sociopolitical order. Today, filmmakers are viewed as avatars of the top-down transformation of Saudi society.
