He is a university professor at New York University, a successful venture capitalist and has served on the boards of Fortune 500 companies. When Dr. Akram Yosri ran for election to the US Congress, the American media all agreed that he was the most qualified candidate from the State of New York, but he didn’t win. As an Arab Muslim American running for election in the United States during the months following Sept. 11, he didn’t stand a chance.
Recently, Yosri paid a visit to Saudi Arabia where he hopes to be a driver in the founding of a new college specializing in high-tech, management and bio-tech. During his visit, he was received by Prince Saud ibn Naif, deputy governor of the Eastern Province. The deputy governor encouraged his efforts, assuring Yosri private colleges have the full support of the government. The prince pointed out that when the education system was first established in Saudi Arabia, it was primarily the responsibility of the government due to the enormous size of the endeavor. But now with the foundation in place, the government feels that it is time for the private sector to play a more active role.
Yosri also met with Prince Bandar ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad, president and CEO, Soroof International. Prince Bandar is investigating the requirements for the creation of a high-tech park in the Eastern Province. Yosri has had experience with the government of Malaysia in the creation, funding and support of ventures in the area of information technology. In fact, he came to the Kingdom directly from a visit to Malaysia. He has traveled to the Kingdom many times and is quite familiar with the needs of the Gulf region.
“Some people feel that Dubai has gotten the jump on other Gulf countries in the area of information technology, but I do not believe this is so,” said Yosri. “While Dubai has created an Internet city, this is a regional venture that is more about real estate speculation and vendor support than anything else. A high-tech park is about idea creation, development and then commercialization. There is no hub in the Gulf for true research and development. The Kingdom has the opportunity to create such a hub.”
Why would Yosri be interested in joining such an endeavor?
“While I am an American, I am also an Arab,” Yosri emphasized. “I was born in Egypt and then in the early 1970s I came to the United States during my childhood years. My family was conservative but they instilled in me the desire to succeed and they pushed me to use all the advantages available in the US. Those advantages included excellent educational institutions. Eventually due to a strong educational foundation, I was able to make the most of a thriving business climate.
“My personal experience has given me a strong conviction that we must develop top-notch educational institutions in the Arab world to enable the region to compete globally. In the Middle East there are so many opportunities available in the area of high technology but those opportunities cannot be tapped without scientists and technicians trained in the right disciplines. I would like to combine the know-how and resources of New York University with the human resources and potential of the Middle East to enable the youth of the region to become true contributors to the global development of high technology. It’s a way for me to combine my love of my adopted land with my roots in the Middle East, to create something positive of lasting value.”
Yosri pointed out that these days everyone is talking about the digital divide like it is some sort of chasm that can simply be bridged with improved access to technology. But he does not believe that this is true.
“The Middle East has access to technology, yet it’s sitting on the wrong side of the digital divide. The majority of Saudi youth are not computer literate. Technology penetration levels are low, especially outside the biggest cities. Few Saudis have advanced training in high technologies. Creating institutes in the Kingdom to offer advanced training in high-tech is a must. The private sector should welcome the chance to found such institutes for higher learning because graduates of those schools will benefit the private sector most,” Yosri explained.
Turning to a discussion of his political career in the United States, Yosri described the difficulty he’d had campaigning as a Muslim and an Arab in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
“At first my campaign didn’t get much attention because I was unknown,” he said. “But then the media latched on to the fact that I was a Muslim. I am proud to be of Arab heritage and to be a Muslim, but in the United States with its strict separation of Church and State, being a Muslim shouldn’t be a reason why someone is elected or not elected for public office. However, I found that no matter who was interviewing me, eventually my religion and ethnicity were mentioned. My qualifications for holding public office sometimes were of secondary importance.”
Despite the difficulties in running for office, Yosri plans to do it again. He acknowledged that he lost in his Congressional bid due to fundraising difficulties. Yosri’s fundraising efforts yielded a lower amount than any other candidate in the New York Congressional race. Even worse, special interest groups that oppose Muslims, worked on behalf of other candidates.
“Muslims are not well organized in the political arena in the United States and the situation has become hurtful to their interests,” said Yosri. “You can have a million people shouting outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and they won’t be as effective as one voice shouting inside Congress.”
While traditionally the Democratic Party has offered the most support to Arabs and Muslims in the United States, it was a surprise to discover that Yosri is a Republican. While he generally supports the Republican agenda and is a strong backer of US President George W. Bush, Yosri has spoken out against armed intervention in Iraq, which he believes would be a mistake. Despite this stance, he has already been offered the chance to run again in two years for the next US Congressional elections in his area. Until then Yosri plans to continue his efforts in building bridges between the United States and the Arab and Muslim world.
“When I stood up to announce my candidacy for the US Congress,” commented Yosri, “I said I am an Arab American Muslim and I am proud of who I am. Keeping that in mind, there is much I can do to serve the United States, Islam and my origins here in the Middle East. It is my goal to do all that I think I can and then work to find ways to do more.”
