Our community lost one of its outstanding  members, our dear friend, Ahmad Hijazi. Ahmad was a very special  

individual. God graced him with many talents. He did not allow his tremendous business success and social

ascendency to make him forget who he is and where he came from. His love and care for his community were

exemplary. His life journey took him from Tamra in Palestine to England and to the Gulf States before coming back

to the US. I had the pleasure and honor to have known him intimately. He served tirelessly on the AAEF board for

years during the difficult times in the history of the organization. Through his extensive network in the Gulf, he

secured an invitation from the State of Kuwait for representatives of the AAEF to visit. The delegation included Dr.

Alan Matusaw, myself, and Ahmad. This allowed the three of us to travel to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in order to

raise funds for the Arab Studies Chair at Rice University.  Because of him, the Kuwaiti Foundation for Scientific

Advancement donated one hundred thousand dollars to the organization.  He will be missed by all he loved and

cared for. His presence at the AAEF board was meaningful and had a lasting impact.

--Abdul Fustok, MD