Abdullah Al-Nafisi
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Abdullah Fahad Al-Nafisi (in Arabic عبد الله فهد النفيسي - born 1945 in
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
) is a Kuwaiti politician and academic. He graduated from The University of Cambridge in 1972. He was a member of the National Assembly of Kuwait in 1985.


Early life

Abdullah Fahad Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Nafisi was born on 1945 in Freej Soud, Jibla,
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
. Al-Nafisi is from the Al-Nafsiah family that originated from
Mutayr Mutayr () is an Arab tribe with origins in the northern Hejaz near Medina, in present day Saudi Arabia. The tribe mainly inhabits Saudi Arabia (Najd), Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. They have also settled in Morocco and Tunisia. Ge ...
tribe. In 1951, Abdullah and his brother Ghazi moved to Egypt to study in Victoria College in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. Initially, Abdullah went to study medicine in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. In 1962, Abdullah read '' Why I Am Not a Christian'' by
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
, which caused him to question his faith. It caused him to leave Manchester and go back to Kuwait to learn and research more about Islam.


Education and academia

He earned his Bachelor's degree from the
American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...
in 1967 and a PhD in Political Science from Churchill College at Cambridge University in Britain in 1972. Abdullah Al-Nafisi has worked as a professor of political science and president at the College of Political Science of
Kuwait University Kuwait University (, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29/1966. The university was of ...
and at
Al Ain University Al Ain University (AAU) (), is a private university in the United Arab Emirates with two campuses: one in Al Ain, and the other in Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi ...
in the United Arab Emirates. He has a doctorate in political science from the University of Cambridge. Between 1973 and 1980, he was active as a visiting professor at
Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...
,
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
,
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
and the
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...
.


Parliamentary Career

Abdullah Al-Nafisi decided to run in the 1985 Kuwaiti general election in the Eighth District. He was considered to be a candidate closely affiliated to the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
in Kuwait. He got first place in that district with 951 votes. He was a member of majority anti-government bloc in parliament. On 23 June 1986, Abdullah Al-Nafisi and Jassim Al-Qatami decided to interrogate Minister of Oil Ali Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah regarding Santa Fe International oil exploration company. Three other interrogations were announced on the same week leading to the unconstitutional dissolution of 1985 session, ending Al-Nafisi’s career as MP on July 3, 1986.


Works

Al-Nafisi wrote at least 17 published books and multiple articles in Al-Mugtama magazine. His first publication was called ''The role of Shi’a in the modern political development of Iraq'' for his PhD Thesis in 1972 for
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. While he was a professor at
Kuwait University Kuwait University (, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29/1966. The university was of ...
, Al-Nafisi had a deep interest in the Dhofar War. It caused him to study the conflict in the battlefield documenting it in his book ''Conflict in Dhofar'' (1975). After the unconstitutional dissolution of the 1975 National Assembly, Abdullah wrote a dissenting book about the political situation in Kuwait which was published in 1978 called ''Kuwait, the other opinion''. The book was later banned from publication in Kuwait. In 1980, Al-Nafisi wrote two books about Islam in politics called ''Islam Rule'' and ''Sharia Policy''. After the founding of the
Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...
in 1981, Al-Nafisi immediately authored a book regarding the future of institution called ''Gulf Cooperation Council: The Strategic Framework'' (1982). Al-Nafisi authored two books in 1986 called ''The Islamic Movement: Gaps in the Road'' and ''The role of students in political work''. He authored his autobiography called ''From the days of the past'' in 2014.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nafisi, Abdullah 1945 births Living people Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge American University of Beirut alumni Academic staff of Kuwait University Kuwaiti Muslims Members of the National Assembly (Kuwait) Muslim Brotherhood