Tareq Al-Suwaidan

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[[Image:Suwaidan.jpg|frame|- Tareq Mohammad Al-Suwaidan (born November 23, 1953 in Kuwait) is an eminent and influential Kuwaiti intellectual, entrepreneur, Islamic scholar and reformer. He is the CEO and owner of Gulf Innovation Group in Kuwait and the general manager of Al-Resalah Satellite TV channel owned by Saudi billionaire prince HRH Alwaleed bin Talal. He is also the chairman of the AWARE (Advocates for Western-Arab Relations & Exchange) center in Kuwait. Al-Suwaidan was trained in the classical Islamic sciences in his youth and spent many years of his life living and studying in the United States, having received a B.S. in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa. He is well known in the Middle East and in Muslim communities throughout the world for his management/strategic planning training, motivational speaking and television shows and appearances.

Tareq Al-Suwaidan
Tareq Al-Suwaidan

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[edit] Biographical Details

Al-Suwaidan lived and studied in the United States, having received a B.S. in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.[1] He currently resides in Kuwait with his wife and six children.

[edit] Media & Management

Al-Suwaidan is a TV personality, with TV shows ranking among the highest in ratings on Middle East satellite TV channels such as MBC, Abu Dhabi TV, Orbit, Dream, Iqra and Al-Resalah TV.[2] [3] [4] An estimated 10 million viewers tune in daily to his show on MBC annually in Ramadan[5] He has also been interviewed on major networks CNN, BBC, and CBS.[6]

Al-Suwaidan is the General Manager of al-Resalah TV which an Arab newspaper has reported in 2006 was the brainchild of Saudi multi-billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and that the Supreme Advisory Committee of the new channel included important Saudi Islamist leaders such as Abdullah ibn Sulaiman Al-Manai, Abdullah Omar Naseef, and Hamed Al-Refaie.[7] Al-Suwaidan is quoted by the Christian Science Monitor as defining the goals of the new, Islamic channel as being "in clash with terrorist ideas… We are going head to head" and "In our understanding, Islamic media is any clean media..."[8]

Al-Suwaidan is a management, leadership and strategic planning consultant in the Middle East and is CEO of the Gulf Innovation Group.[9] He is frequently consulted by prominent regional governmental and private sector organizations.[10]. He is also the chairman of the AWARE (Advocates for Western-Arab Relations & Exchange) center in Kuwait.[11]

[edit] Views and Ideology

Al-Suwaidan is one of the leaders and ideologues of the Islamic Reform Society in Kuwait. [12][13] Al-Suwaidan holds pro-democratic, pro-free speech and pro-freedom of religion viewpoints that he asserts were an influence of his many years living in the United States.[14] He has supported the rights of women, within Islamic sharia law, to vote and to hold the highest of political positions.[15] .[16]. He has also voiced a need to break with a traditional and historical understanding of Islam in favor of reform. Al-Suwaidan has repeatedly condemned the actions of terrorists and suicide bombers, as noted in an interview he gave in 2006.

[edit] Educational Initiatives

Al-Suwaidan founded the American Creativity Academy in Kuwait, a private institution whose website states that it offers an American college-preparatory education within the context of Islamic values.[17] [18]

[edit] Books and Audio Productions

Dr. Al-Suwaidan is the author of several best-selling books and spoken word audio tape albums. His album, ‘Qasas al Anbiyaa’ (Lives of the Prophets) is the highest selling Islamic album in the world with well over 2 million copies sold. Additionally, over 1.2 million listeners have downloaded his lectures on the popular Islamic broadcast website "Islamway".[19]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Swidan Website
  2. ^ Swidan Website
  3. ^ TBS 16 Interview with Tareq Alsuwaidan, General Manager of Al Resalah Channel
  4. ^ http://www.thedohadebates.com/output/Page29.asp
  5. ^ http://www.thedohadebates.com/output/Page29.asp
  6. ^ reference needed
  7. ^ Al-Resalah Launched
  8. ^ The Christian Science Monitor, May 2, 2006: The new Muslim TV: media-savvy, modern, and moderate: Ursula Lindsey http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0502/p01s04-wome.html
  9. ^ الابداع الخليجي
  10. ^ الابداع الخليجي
  11. ^ TBS 16 Interview with Tareq Alsuwaidan, General Manager of Al Resalah Channel
  12. ^ http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/cp79_brown_kuwait_final.pdf
  13. ^ http://www.ikhwanweb.com/Home.asp?zPage=Systems&System=PressR&Press=Show&Lang=E&ID=4701
  14. ^ TBS 16 Interview with Tareq Alsuwaidan, General Manager of Al Resalah Channel
  15. ^ Al-Suwaidan on Tim Sebastian's the Doha Debates arguing pro the motion 'This House believes that Arab women should have full equality with men'* http://www.thedohadebates.com/output/page30.asp
  16. ^ Qatar Opens Debate on Thorny Muslim, Arab Issues : NPR
  17. ^ TBS 16 Interview with Tareq Alsuwaidan, General Manager of Al Resalah Channel
  18. ^ http://www.thedohadebates.com/output/Page29.asp
  19. ^ الشيخ: طارق بن محمد السويدان

[edit] External links

Dr. Tareq Al-Suwaidan's Official Website (Arabic only) [1]

Al-Resalah Satellite TV channel (Arabic only) [2]