Nihad Dukhan

Visual artist specialised in various types of Arabic calligraphy Nihad Dukhan was born in 1964 in central Gaza, Palestine, and arrived in Toledo, Ohio in August 1983. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Toledo in 1996. He is currently a professor of mechanical engineering at University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan. His interest in Arabic calligraphy began when he was in the sixth grade. To polish his training in the classical styles of Arabic/Islamic calligraphy, he started studying with the noted Istanbul grand master calligrapher Hasan Çelebi (pronounced Chalabi) in Thuluth and Naskh styles in 1998, and received his Ijazah (master of calligraphy degree) after 11 years of study. He also studied with master calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya in Taliq style, and received his other Ijazah in 2013, after seven years of study.