Biography

Dr. Naif A. Al-Mutawa

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is the creator of THE 99-the first group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. THE 99, has received positive attention from the international media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, Wired, Elle, The Washington Post and The Guardian. Recently, Forbes named THE 99 as one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe. Read more about the worldwide coverage of THE 99.

A PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, Al-Mutawa completed a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University and a Masters in Organizational Psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University, where he triple majored in clinical psychology, English literature and history.

Dr. Al-Mutawa has had extensive clinical experience working with former prisoners of war in Kuwait as well as at the Survivors of Political Torture unit of Bellevue Hospital in New York. He has seen first hand the cancer that intolerance can bring to any society. His direct contact with the horrors of prisons and with people tortured because of their religious and political beliefs, led to his writing a timeless children’s tale that won a UNESCO prize for literature in the service of tolerance. He is also the recipient of The Festival Internacional de Humour e Quadrinhos Comics Award presented at Cartoons & Comics Festival in Brazil, The Ecademy Award from Columbia University School of Business, The Eliot-Pearson Award for Excellence in Children's Media from Tufts University, The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations “ Marketplace of Ideas” Award and ‘The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Award’, 2009 presented at the World Economic Forum on The Middle East, Dead Sea, Jordan.

His writing has been published in several languages.