Alaa Qarooni

Alaa Qarooni is a Bahraini MA candidate for the Columbia/Aga Khan dual degree in Islamic Studies and Muslim Cultures. He first moved to the United States from Bahrain to pursue a bachelors degree in electrical engineering, but quickly found himself drawn to exploring the educational streamline taken by Arab youth in the gulf as they navigate the complicated dynamics of postcolonial, oil-rich Arab states, a streamline which he believes he himself is a product of. His interests deal with the disconnect between the hegemonic cultural imaginary of the state and the grim reality of youth on the ground. What do standard talking points like ‘economic development’ and ‘building for a knowledge economy’ mean when faced with a near future of economic recession and environmental catastrophe? How do youth conceptualize ‘the future’ when so-called modernization efforts are undertaken without their interests in mind? How does our understanding of Islam in the Middle East, as scholars, evolve when we consider the role of education and youth in constructing it, historically and contemporaneously? Alaa hopes to develop his expertise in order to attribute greater value to youth culture in academic discourse on Islam and the Middle East.