كل عام وأنت بخير يا نضال
A gift from Wang Dan
Happy Birthday
NidalAlsayyed
Scholar. Teacher. Imam. Engineer. Friend. On this twenty-fifth of August, Wang Dan celebrates fifty-six years of a life lived with dignity, curiosity, and heart — and the family, near and far, who share it with him.
From Wang Dan · August 25, 1970 · turning 56
56
years of light
Scholar
engineering & faith
Teacher
classroom & minbar
Friend
the gift of presence
A letter from Wang Dan
For my friend Nidal
There are people who collect titles, and there are people who collect light. You have done both — quietly, generously, without asking the room to applaud.
I have watched you stand at a mihrab with a book in your hands. I have watched you teach, listen, and laugh. I have watched you take on the hard work of scholarship and the even harder work of being kind.
A life like yours is never lived alone. It is held by family, by students, by neighbors at a table, by everyone who has ever left a conversation with you standing a little taller. May they be wrapped in the same peace you give away.
May this year be spacious. May your health be steady. May your family be safe. May every person you have lifted now lift you.
عيد ميلاد سعيد · بارك الله فيك وفي أهلك
Wang Dan
Portraits
Nidal, in the world
Public photographs from Beaumont and beyond — at the prayer hall, at the table, with the people around him. Tap any image to open it.
In his voice
Words he has given us
“Outrageous acts are not Islam.”
“The loss of one life is equivalent to killing the whole of mankind.”
“Anyone who is less sincere to this country is most probably not sincere to his religion.”
Chapters
A life of service
1970
01A life begins
August 25 — Nidal Alsayyed arrives. Fifty-six years of curiosity, faith, and friendship follow.
1989
02The first classrooms
Teaching in the United States begins. A vocation that never really stops: explain, listen, begin again.
1995
03Purdue
M.S. in Cybersecurity Management. The long arc toward protecting systems — and the people who depend on them.
2009
04A scholar of ethics & finance
Papers and a guide to Islamic economics, banking, and finance. Sukuk, ijarah, murabaha — the work of making markets answer to conscience.
2014
05Doctor of engineering
Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont. Equations on the desk. Students at the door.
Imam
06The classroom and the minbar
Religious director of the Islamic Society of the Triplex. For years he put a human face to the Muslim community of Southeast Texas — patient, scholarly, smiling.
UCF
07Guardian of systems
Information Security Professional II at the University of Central Florida. SOC analyst. Threat hunter. Researcher of digital twins that warn a machine before it fails.
Today
08The man we celebrate
Titles matter less than this: he makes people feel seen. Wang Dan gathers the light around him and says thank you.
Guestbook
Blessings for the year ahead
Photo sources
Where these portraits live
Gathered by Wang Dan for this private tribute. Family albums stay private; these pictures are the public ones — community, congregation, and colleagues. News photographs remain the copyright of their publishers and photographers.
- Beaumont Enterprise photo essay ↗
Jake Daniels photographed Dr. Alsayyed on January 15, 2015 at the Press Club of Southeast Texas and the Islamic Center of Beaumont — portraits in the prayer hall, the study, and among community members.
- WFAA / 12News interview still ↗
A widely circulated interview portrait of Imam Nidal Alsayyed seated before a wall of books, including works on Islamic finance and scholarship.
- ResearchGate profile portrait ↗
Professional academic headshot used on research profiles (smiling, without kufi). Linked here rather than copied, out of respect for the platform’s terms.
- EDUCAUSE member profile ↗
University of Central Florida — Information Security Professional II, with a public biography of his security and engineering work.
- Google Scholar ↗
Publications under Nidal A. Alsayyed, PhD.