Hometown: Seattle, WA

Research Interests: Palestine, refugees and migration, Arab diaspora, race and ethnic studies, colonial history and decolonial movements

Ruqaiyah is a recent graduate of Yale University, where she received her Bachelor's degree in History with a focus on the Middle East. As an undergraduate, she researched and wrote a study analyzing the 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine through a class-based lens. As a research assistant, she has also studied political narratives during the Arab Spring and has written a report on the imprisonment of Palestinian children as a researcher for the Lowenstein Human Rights Project at Yale Law School. Ruqaiyah has also interned at various Middle East Policy think tanks, including Gisha, and has worked with Arab refugee women in New Haven to develop nonprofit fellowship programs.

Ruqaiyah also enjoys freelance writing, and has published articles in Middle East focused outlets, including Mondoweiss and New Arab. She is also a community organizer and has worked to develop local movements for the Palestinian struggle.