Suhyla Behiry

Suhyla (pronounced soo-HEY-la) was born in New York City. A child of Egyptian immigrants and a first-generation American, Suhyla has often compared the concepts and tools of American democracy to the political institutions of the Middle East. Since much of the academia regarding the Middle East is seen through a Western lens, she hopes to thread the needle of Arab democracy, while accounting for cultural sensitivities that get ignored when analyzing the region’s politics and people. 

In addition to her background, courses such as “Language and the Political” with Andrew Libby and “(Un)relatable” with Andrea Gadberry, have asked Suhyla to question the role of language in shaping relations between Arab citizens and those in power, as well as how they perceive their place in the international sphere and the implications of being seen as “the other.” Suhyla has created an independent study with Tyson Patros of the SCA department, “The Arab Spring.” Through this study, she hopes to investigate the factors that lead to widespread protest against despotism and why the revolution was (and was not) successful. 

Suhyla was selected to join the Dean's Honor Society and the University Leadership Honors Course. She currently works with Muslims Giving Back, where she founded the DREAM program, an initiative to empower Muslim youth. Suhyla hopes to contribute to research regarding notions of power in the contemporary Middle East, as well as correct misinformed theories about the region.