Abdullah Alqahtani plans to use his Ole Miss education to better society in Saudi Arabia.
After growing up in the dry heat of Saudi Arabia, surrounded by sand, graduate student Abdullah Alqahtani fell in love with the vibrant green trees shrouding the Grove. It was his newfound love for peace journalism that kept him at the University of Mississippi.
“The first class I joined, I met Dr. (Zenebe) Beyene in our media theories class and he mentioned something about peace journalism, and I thought that was an interesting topic,” Alqahtani said. “I thought about it more and how media in Saudi Arabia have been facing issues since the first Gulf War in the ’90s into the Arab Spring in 2010. In fact, there is a need to cultivate a peace-oriented approach.
“The region has suffered from a lot of things, and I thought this would add benefit to journalists in the area. I wanted to learn more about peace. I wanted to put in my opinion about peace. I picked it as my dissertation topic because I want to see peace.”
As he finishes his master’s degree in journalism and a doctorate in second language studies, through the Department of Modern Languages, Alqahtani reminisces about the first day of Beyene’s Seminar in Mass Communication Theory. It was in that class that Alqahtani began to learn more about peace journalism from a professional in peace journalism research.
Beyene’s research includes work about tolerance and online debate in Ethiopia, the role of peacebuilding in Africa, and media use and abuse in Ethiopia.
“The graduate program is a challenge by itself, but then attending a graduate program in another country is a totally different ballgame,” Beyene said. “For Abdullah coming here, with a totally different culture and language, it wasn’t easy, but he has handled everything with grace and courage.
“His openness to new ideas and his commitment to knowledge and the learning process is just incredible.”
After that first class in August 2020, Alqahtani spent the next two years on campus learning more about efforts in Saudi Arabian media over the last three decades, and how some of his colleagues back home are making strides in the journalism field.
Alqahtani received his undergraduate degree at King Saud University, in Riyadh, before working with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of English as an English teacher. He always dreamed of traveling abroad and landed at Arkansas Tech in 2014 for his first master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
After returning home in 2017, he worked with Najran University and the daily newspaper Al Watan. His desire to learn more encouraged him to pack his wife and children up once more, moving to Oxford, or what he describes as the “Mecca of the South.”
“It wasn’t easy to convince my children in the beginning because they were thinking about the ones they’d leave behind,” he said “But once we got here, we found a community here in Oxford. I also have wonderful American neighbors, and within a few months, they felt relaxed and made friends.
“The system of schools here is really important and now, they want to stay here forever.”
Referring to himself as a Southern boy at heart, Alqahtani applied to many universities with graduate-level programs. He was accepted by many but picked UM because of the School of Journalism and New Media.
“I told my wife that Ole Miss was one that I was interested in because I had read many articles, and it seemed nice and prestigious,” he said. “It has a very deep history and I thought it would add to my knowledge, but also the culture that I take back with me.”
As soon as his family unpacked, they found a Saudi Arabian community in town and on campus, Alqahtani said. With their family many miles away, they began to form a new family in Oxford.
“The system inside of the university is nice, especially with communication with professors,” he said. “It is very easy to reach the ones you want to talk to. I know Dr. Beyene is someone I can talk to and is now a friend.”
Alqahtani says he is excited to walk across the stage in a few days, with his family and new friends cheering him on.
“There is a saying back home, ‘Anyone who drinks from the Nile River will come back to the Nile.’ It is the same thing here. Anyone who visits Oxford and Ole Miss will come back to visit. I plan on returning not once, but many times.”
— Abdullah Alqahtani
Along with the importance of peace journalism, Alqahtani credits the Grove and landscaping team at Ole Miss for other ideas he wants to share back home.
“I’ve been all over the United States, and the Grove is one of the most beautiful places I have been to,” he said. “The Saudi Green Initiative, launched by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is working to plant 10 billion trees in Saudi Arabia, while his Middle East Green Initiative aims to plant an additional 40 billion trees. I want to bring back the importance of having a green campus, for students and for employees.”
“I want them to have the same feeling as I do. You see trees, you see green, and it makes you feel relaxed and just amazing.
“We’re surrounded by sand – that’s how God made it; we can’t change that – but I want to bring back these ideas to see how we can improve it.”
Along with his wife, Alqahtani will be heading back to Saudi Arabia to teach at Najran University. He said his new knowledge will allow him to better support his students and colleagues.
“There is a saying back home, ‘Anyone who drinks from the Nile River will come back to the Nile,'” Alqahtani said. “It is the same thing here. Anyone who visits Oxford and Ole Miss will come back to visit.
“I plan on returning not once, but many times.”
By MacKenzie Ross, School of Journalism and New Media
