Barbara Petzen

Barbara Petzen is a scholar and educator who has been very involved in bridging the gap that exists between Western and Muslim societies. Ms. Petzen wrote the “Foreword” to The Compassionate Warrior: Abd el-Kader of Algeria, which was written by Elsa Marston. Ms. Petsen titled that foreword “Abd el-Kader: What Makes a Hero?” and in it she highlights exactly why the life of this Algerian freedom fighter should be of interest to parents and young adults in our own country and times.

Barbara Petzen founded Middle East Connections, an organization that works to create a “more complex and accurate understanding of the Middle East and its people through professional development, study tours and outreach consulting,” and is currently its director. She also sits on the board of directors of the Abd el-Kader Education Project, whose mission is “to build bridges of understanding through the life stories of real people who can inspire others.”

Ms. Petzen has designed and taught courses on Middle Eastern history, Islam, and women’s studies at Dalhousie University and St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada. She earned degrees from Columbia College and Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Barbara Petzen’s academic interests include the history and present concerns of women in the Middle East and the Islamic world, the role of Islam in Middle Eastern and other societies, relations and perceptions between the Islamic world and the West, and the necessity for globalizing K-12 education in the United States.