At Hopkins, International Studies is the most popular of liberal arts majors. Every International Studies student is required to learn a language, and that makes Professor Khalil Tahrawi a very busy man. As one of two professors of undergraduate Arabic at Homewood, Tahrawi teaches at least three lectures every day of the week. Thankfully, he had enough time to sit down for a short interview about his life and the long road he has traveled (only around 7,000 miles) to teach at Hopkins.
A cool and collected man, Professor Tahrawi is easy to approach and have a conversation with. Despite living the first 32 years of his life in Middle Eastern countries, he speaks English flawlessly and with only a faint accent. Professor Khalil was born in 1945 in Barqa, in what was then called the Palestinian Mandate of Palestine. His stay in Palestine, later Israel, however, was not very long.
In 1967, the state of Israel fought 10 different Arab nations and the Palestinian Liberation Organization over a fierce six-day period. While Israel won the war decisively, an estimated 300,000 Palestinians were dispersed from Israeli lands due to the heavy fighting. While many of them settled in neighboring Jordan, Tahrawi and his family moved to Saudi Arabia, where they settled in the large city of Al-Khobar, a metropolis situated amidst the oil fields of Eastern Saudi Arabia.
The News-letter (N-L): You experienced firsthand the Arab-Israeli conflict. What are your hopes for future peace?
Khalil Tahrawi (KT) : “I think that both the Israelis and the Palestinians need to focus on serving each other’s communities. Unless they take the other’s goals into mind, the peace efforts won’t work. I think that the hopes for peace are brightened with the coming of a new generation. As new years come, each side will realize the importance of caring for their own homes and families rather than looking suspiciously across borders. Until then, however, both sides need to better understand each other. I lived in Palestine in my early years, yet I never got a chance to meet and talk to the nearby Israeli community. There are many misconceptions that each side has concerning the other.”
N-L: What made you decide to come to America?
KT: “I was teaching high school Arabic in Saudi Arabia. In order to move up in the world of education, I felt it was necessary to get an education in America. I came over in 1977 and enrolled in Saint Xavier college in Ill., where I majored in education. I already knew a lot about Western culture. I had learned to speak English in elementary school, and during my time in Saudi Arabia I lived close to many of the American-run oil towns, where I got to witness firsthand the American way of life. After I finished college, I simply couldn’t move back to Saudi Arabia. I stayed in America and took advantage of its amazing teaching opportunities.”
N-L: What was your first teaching position in America?
KT: I taught at Alexandria High School in Va. for a long time. I worked at two different colleges before Johns Hopkins. One was American University in Washington D.C. I also taught at Northern Virginia Community College. I only came to Johns Hopkins in 2004. It’s been an interesting journey across continents to reach Hopkins.
N-L: Since you’ve traveled so far, are you a fan of tourism, or are you tired of all the flying?
KT: I still enjoy traveling. I particularly like touring within the United States. Another pastime of mine is watching both baseball and soccer. I am a longtime Cubs fan, and they are certainly due for a win soon. As far as soccer, I enjoy watching the Spanish teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona. While soccer is extremely popular in the Arab world, I have never been a fanatic. Of course I also enjoy spending time with my family. I have four kids and two grandchildren, both of whom are young girls.
N-L: Have you always wanted to be a teacher?
KT: I actually have. Even when I was a kid, it was the career I wanted to go into. It has been my career my whole life, and I don’t regret it.
If I had to say one accomplishment I was proud of, it would be the obtaining of my E.D.D., which is the highest degree one can get in the field of education. The best way to help someone is through teaching them, so they can help themselves. A good education is a necessity for bringing peace, for ignorance is one of the best friends of discord.
