UAE: Meet the Emirati scholar whose writings have helped spread spirit of tolerance, coexistence

Professor Jamal Sanad Al Suwaidi was also nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature in 2019

UAE scholar, writer, and strategic expert, Professor Jamal Sanad Al Suwaidi recalls how back in the early days, the family, mosques and communities were educational institutions that played a major role in instilling values, customs and traditions in children.

In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Al Suwaidi talked about his childhood, education and some of his latest publications. The Emirati researcher says his mother played the most significant role in preparing him for school.

“With sound instinct and awareness, she understood the nature of a child’s transition from the comfort of the family environment to a new world with different rules. She was aware of the conscious, thoughtful transition that was needed. Today, special introductory sessions are held for this purpose,” he said.

Al Suwaidi, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), says his father, maternal uncle, and elder brother, took him to the mosque where religious values were instilled in him, and he learned how to perform prayers at an early age.

“At the mosque, my first lessons were on engaging with society and preserving its customs and values. I was also taught manners, in terms of speech and behaviour,” he said.

“These daily trips to the mosque were an important as it educated people and prepared them for engagement with a wider environment.”

Unlike today, the school during Al Suwaidi’s childhood was equivalent to the family in its level of importance; the care provided by schools was comprehensive— mentally, psychologically and physically.

“Building and strengthening character was among the schools’ objectives, and various educational curricula were designed to achieve that goal. This took place directly, through a strong motivation to instil and strengthen values and morals, as well as indirectly, with moral values included in the various curricula,” he said.

“Teachers did not consider their role as limited to ensuring students understood subjects in order to pass exams; rather, their goal was to build balanced individuals that appreciated moral values and were committed to them.”

The scholar believes that it’s regrettable that many of today’s schools no longer take care of the moral aspects of carrying out their mission. “Teachers explain lessons to students, and then go home,” he says.

Al Suwaidi graduated from Kuwait University with the major in political science. After that, he returned to the UAE full of ambition and hope to serve his nation. His first practical experience came when he was appointed to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981 as a Third Secretary in the Ministry’s General Office. “My work there lasted for approximately one year, before I left to complete my post-graduate studies abroad. During that year, I was assigned to the post of Editor-in-Chief of The Diplomat Journal, which published by the Ministry at the time,” he said.

Getting into writing and research

The Emirati scholar says writing started for him with Al Manbar Al Hurr (Free Forum) magazine. He wrote a series of articles titled “Memoirs of a Poor Man Who Travelled to London”, published by the Political Science Association at Kuwait University. “The magazine represented an important step forward in the development of my writing, where I moved from fictional and descriptive writing to tackling political and social issues,” said Al Suwaidi.

“Receiving a PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin was the first step in my development to becoming a researcher and academic.”

Al Suwaidi has authored several books on politics, extremist ideologies and the values of tolerance and coexistence and social life, and also contributed to many publications.

In 2019, the Emirati scholar was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature for the importance of his book The Mirage in addressing extremist ideologies that have spread across the globe in recent years, and which threatens the security of societies and human values.

In March this year, he was honoured with a French medal, the "Afal Francophone Fraternity 2022", for combating extremist ideologies and spreading the values of tolerance and coexistence through his writings.