It has been over two years since I last wrote here. I am writing today to share some good news. I am now a Hoya.

Earlier this month, I began my first semester as a graduate student at Georgetown University. Georgetown is the world’s preeminent school for the study for International Relations. My master’s degree will be in Democracy & Governance, a hybridized program that contextualizes the role of democratic government on a global scale. I was previously a visiting student with the program in 2019.

I decided to attend graduate school for several reasons. Having worked in electoral politics since I was a teenager, as well as legislative advocacy and governmental reform, I have become increasingly concerned with democratic backsliding and corruption here at home in the US. I believe the issues of political corruption, unethical judicial misdealings and political grandstanding with little meaningful policy progress are a clear and present danger to American democracy. Second, freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are in jeopardy across the world today. Third, I believe that to improve governance, one needs to study the art of governance. Together, those reasons brought me back to Georgetown.

To me, there is little doubt that democracy at home is in serious jeopardy. Abuse of power, corruption scandals and deliberate efforts to silence or intimidate the electorate have become the new political norm across the United States and even in my home state of Maryland. The very political prosecution of the exonerated Adnan Syed and the ongoing corruption sagas involving local governments across the state clearly make the case that democracy must be defended and protected, lest it be hijacked by dubious characters of ill-repute—a phenomenon called “state capture”. America’s place in the world hinges on whether we can master good governance and whether we can truly live up to the words “Land of the Free”. We have a lot of work ahead of us to restore our democracy and usher in good governance.

But, so too is democracy abroad. Earlier this year, Pakistan’s ineffective yet very popular prime minister Imran Khan was brought down and imprisoned by a cabal of Punjabi generals who were desperate to bail out their country’s economy. Several Western African democracies have fallen in recent months due to accusations of French imperialism and mounting domestic disaffection. Indian democracy has never been more imperiled as the ruling BJP continues its assault on freedoms at home, and now abroad (as Canada now alleges). Global democratic change all hinges on whether Americans can restore faith in our own institutions at home.

My brother Hassan is a major Georgetown fan.
He and my sister have insisted I go there for school for years.

I want American democracy to thrive. Here in Maryland, it is not, largely due to corruption. Last year, only half of Marylanders cast a ballot in our gubernatorial elections. Over the past summer, two Montgomery County Public Schools officials were convicted of theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school system. Just last month, the mayor of College Park (home to the University of Maryland) pleaded guilty to dozens of counts of child pornography possession. Less than a week ago, a Montgomery County Council staff person was put on administrative leave for theft of services and abuse of power. Meanwhile, an ongoing investigation continues into dozens of claims of sexual harassment and misconduct by a school principal who seemingly kept falling upwards in terms of promotions. Finally: nearly half of all of Montgomery County’s legislators have been appointed by a shadowy political body with a history of tax scandals.

I am of course leaving out several major scandals involving Maryland in the past year that have made national headlines, mostly because local reporting just doesn’t get enough coverage. The point I am driving at is this: a small, dangerously out of touch political elite is demolishing local democracy across Maryland, and are now bulldozing responsible governance, in order to maintain the illusion that they somehow have power. I believe I need an education in what a strong democracy and good governance looks like from Georgetown to help us right our listing ship back home.

And that is exactly what I intend to do.

This is what bad people do to coffee. #AllBlackMovement

I will be writing frequently going forward about Maryland, public policy ideas and the challenges we face to getting our state and country back on track. From time to time, I will also write about foreign politics and international affairs. I will try and not spend too much time talking about coffee and why Yemeni beans are the world’s finest, but it will come up.

I also will share more about my life, and case studies of my past work in electoral politics, media advocacy, and community organizing. Folks often ask “what is it exactly Hamza does again?” and “where the hell did Hamza disappear to?”. The answers my friend, are not blowing in the wind. They’ll be posted right here on my blog.

Before I go, a special thank you to my friends Asma, Bill, Rachel, Scott, Mike, Roni, Matt, Ashton, Rob and Yamil who have never stopped believing in me. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. And finally: Alhamdulillah.