Qanta Ahmed
Qanta Ahmed | |
---|---|
Born | United Kingdom |
Nationality | British-American[1] |
Alma mater | University of Nottingham |
Occupation(s) | Physician, author and women's rights activist |
Medical career | |
Field | Sleep disorders |
Institutions | Stony Brook University, New York University |
Qanta A. Ahmed is a British-American physician who came to prominence as a doctor specializing in sleep disorders. She has also worked as an author, women's rights activist, journalist and public commentator.
Life and education
Ahmed is the daughter of
Medical career
Ahmed practiced medicine in the
As of 2011, Ahmed was associate professor of medicine at the
Literary and journalism career
Ahmed is the author of In the Land of Invisible Women, an account of her experiences as a physician in Saudi Arabia.[8][9][10]
Ahmed has also worked as a public commentator, writing on issues ranging from medicine, to politics, feminism, Islam and current affairs. She has also contributed articles to
Views on Islam and Islamism
Ahmed is not a practicing Muslim but is critical of elements of Islam, the treatment of women in some contemporary Islamic societies and the ideology of
Ahmed stated that she formed many of her views after being denied a visa extension in the US after finishing medical training, and due facing difficulties staying in America, accepted a job offer in Saudi Arabia "on a whim." She hoped that as a Muslim she would feel more accepted in Saudi society and be able to explore her religious heritage, but quickly found herself relegated to second-class medicineship due to her status as a woman and disrespected or treated as inferior by her subordinates. She claimed that while she was impressed by her Saudi colleagues' attachment to their faith, she also felt oppressed by compulsory veil laws in public and was shocked by the social shunning, racism and antisemitism she witnessed, as well as unsound medical practices that were encouraged as a result of Saudi Arabia's governance under hardline Islamic laws.[12][13]
In her commentary, Ahmed has argued "Islamists exploit democratic institutions to further their sectarian aims" and that "Exposing Islamists as dangerous totalitarians is not an act of anti-Muslim bigotry but an essential defense of both liberal democracy and Islam." Ahmed has cited the regime of Mohamed Morsi in Egypt as an example of the consequence of Islamists rising to power and that not all Islamists are violent but use many different means to assert themselves.[14]
Ahmed has called on the US
In 2018, she defended Boris Johnson over his comments regarding the burqa and niqāb. She stated "I am fully supportive of Boris Johnson’s rejection of the niqab. And I wonder how many of the former Foreign Secretary’s critics understand my religion, what this form of dress represents and the subjugation it implies."[15]
In 2019, Ahmed criticized US Congresswoman
Ahmed has also critiqued the term "
Views on Israel
Ahmed is opposed to boycotts against Israel and has described the
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Bio". 24 May 2016.
- TheGuardian.com. 11 December 2010. Archivedfrom the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Maltz, Judy (31 May 2013). "The many faces of Dr. Qanta Ahmed". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ "Dr. Qanta Ahmed on Trump and Muslims in America - CNN Video". CNN. 9 December 2015.
- NYU Winthrop Hospital, archived from the originalon 11 September 2011.
- Wall Street Journal. Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- Huffington Post. Archivedfrom the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ "Books: 'In the Land of Invisible Women'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 4 September 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ Schwartz, Stephen (8 September 2008). "Pierce the Veil". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Boston Globe. Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ "Muslim reformists sound off on attacks against Christians". Fox News. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ISBN 978-1402210877.
- ^ "In the Land of Invisible Women".
- ^ a b Ahmed, Qanta A. (10 March 2017). "Designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization". National Review. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ a b Ahmed, Qanta (23 December 2018). "As a Muslim woman I'd like to thank Boris Johnson for calling out the burka". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Qanta Ahmed: Ilhan Omar is a disgrace to Islam and doesn't represent my Muslim religion". Fox News. 14 April 2019.
- The Huffington Post. Archivedfrom the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2018..