Who is The Arab Culturalist?

It would really be unfortunate if you missed an opportunity to experience Nasif’s leadership – with the public and with the staff. Reason being, there are very few people in the world who can handle social situations and people communications so adeptly, so adroitly, with such diplomacy as to be in awe of their presence and finesse. Nasif is one such person. Over the course of several years, I’ve brought quite a lot of people with me to Dubai – and with few exceptions – I brought EVERYONE to his experiential cultural programs. Sitting on the floor, watching people from around the world nervously fumble thimbles of Arabic coffee; awkwardly trying to eat “weird” food while balancing plates on their laps; trying to navigate challenging questions on taboo subjects in a highly public, multicultural environment – always made for interesting – and enlightening – encounters. A world of people together in a room struggling to verify, validate, or reconcile whatever preconceived notions they had entered with against what they were hearing and experiencing with Nasif and the staff. At the start of a program, the air was sometimes tense and the discussion sharp, filled with challenging questions on sensitive topics about Arab culture, Islamic beliefs, and local practices. Nasif would answer with aplomb, skillfully facilitating the discussion with intelligence, patience, honesty, integrity, and directness. He didn’t redact; nor did he defend. He told it straight – and where appropriate – with a sense of humour. You could feel the energy in the room change as people settled in, got absorbed in the conversation, and relaxed. You can always tell the hallmarks of a true leader by watching how their people are around them. I could cite many examples of Nasif empowering his team to interact with us; to enter the dialogue; to add their own insights and experiences. There were also many occasions where others on the team were encouraged to take the floor and take the lead. But perhaps the greatest gift I received from those experiences has not only been in improving my own understanding, but in also being able to increase understanding and tolerance in others. Nasif himself taught me – and us – the very words to speak and put into practice; to greet each other with good intention, clear minds, and open hearts; words perhaps with the power to unify us across the globe –

Nasif is a very knowledgeable and inspiring person. In the past 2 years, we’ve been taking all our new joining employees to the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, and Nasif can truly deliver a message to everybody. I genuinely believe that nobody can explain the UAE and GCC cultures the same way Nasif does. He has the ability to quickly break the ice with all the listeners and talk about sensitive topics in a friendly way – including culture, religion, languages, heritage – all in a very inclusive manner.