CURA Spotlight with Dr. Muez Ali

Speaker: Muez Ali 
Moderator: Leshamta Maina (Georgetown University in Qatar, Class of 2025)
Location: CIRS Conference Room, Georgetown University in Qatar

On October 8th, 2024, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) hosted its first CURA Spotlight event of the semester. The event featured Dr. Muez Ali, Research and Policy Associate at Earthna, Qatar Foundation, and an Honorary Research Fellow at UCL’s Bartlett School. The event was hosted as part of the CIRS Undergraduate Research Advancement (CURA) Program and was opened by Operations Manager Elizabeth Wanucha, who introduced the moderator. The event, moderated by Leshamta Maina, a senior student at Georgetown University in Qatar, focused on the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the role of civil society, and the challenges faced by emergency response rooms. Dr. Ali opened the discussion by challenging mainstream narratives, emphasizing that the war in Sudan is often misrepresented as a power struggle between two generals. He explained that this perspective overlooks the deeper issues at play, such as the rise of organized civil society movements in Sudan, particularly the “resistance committees”, which played a critical role in opposing military rule. The conversation further explored the October 2021 coup and its implications, including the resistance committees’ efforts to sustain community-based initiatives despite the coup’s suppression of civilian leadership. Dr. Ali highlighted the formation of “emergency response rooms”, local networks designed to provide essential support during the conflict. These community-driven initiatives, however, face significant challenges, such as limited funding and international misunderstanding of their role. Following Dr. Ali’s opening remarks, Leshamta and Dr. Ali had a moderated discussion on multiple facets of the conflict in Sudan. They discussed the international community’s response, particularly the role of foreign actors like the UAE, who have economic interests in Sudan’s natural resources, such as gold. Dr. Ali also addressed the displacement crisis, which has led to one of the largest internal displacement movements in recent history. He noted that while civil society has taken steps to provide shelter and aid, the response from international organizations has been limited in areas directly affected by conflict. The floor was then opened for the audience Q&A session, during which students raised questions about the African Union’s silence on the conflict, the potential for urban warfare in Khartoum, and the long-term sustainability of emergency response rooms, many of which rely heavily on diaspora support. Dr. Ali emphasized the need for skepticism towards mainstream media narratives and the importance of understanding the conflict from a Sudanese perspective. The session concluded with a call to critically examine the “forgotten status” of the Sudanese conflict and the role of the media in shaping global perceptions. Dr. Ali encouraged the audience to question established frameworks in social sciences and to remain critical of the narratives presented in mainstream media.

Article written by CIRS Research Assistant, Haala Qamar (Class of ’26)