From Fifth Grade Failure to Lawyer, Law Professor, Writer & Public Speaker

I share this not to brag, but to give hope to and inspire those who have been told or been made to feel that they will not amount to much. The importance of motivating others, persistence and believing in yourself are three vital lessons that I have learned over the course of my life.

Below is a write up on the impact of my environment, experiences, interactions and the influences of others in shaping where I have ended up in life.

Faisal Kutty cut his teeth on human rights issues. His personal journey transformed him from an ostracized immigrant and underperforming student to being named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world. The Valparaiso University Law School associate professor remembers vividly, as a seven-year-old, running from town to town in India and hiding with family and friends to escape his father’s arrest as a political dissident.“Even as a kid I had this thing about social justice,” Kutty said. “There was an arrest warrant issued for my dad. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and she had passed emergency laws to suppress her political dissidents. We went house-to-house and eventually escaped to Canada,” Kutty said. He was instructed not to tell anybody where his dad was and where they were going. “Because of this experience this theme has been present throughout my life and I became focused on human rights.”

Kutty’s father had been editor of a religious publication and was studying on a scholarship in Canada. The arrest warrant was issued in absentia while he was away. “He came back to get us,” Kutty said. “Thousands of people, including my uncle, were arrested and detained.” They were later released when the laws that the Prime Minister enacted were overthrown by the Supreme Court.

Kutty’s human rights issues were not over. As a child growing up in Canada in the 1980s he was “different” and felt left out in a white world. “There was a lot of racism in those days, and I was bullied and called a ‘Paki,’ a derogatory name. I became shy and withdrawn,” Kutty said.

It was an experience that not only served to fuel Kutty’s defense of human rights, but one that ignited his passion for teaching. “Teachers have had a lot of influence on me,” Kutty said. “I was a very bad student. I never did my homework and I didn’t believe in myself. I failed 5th grade and was going to be streamed into trade school. Many people put me down. I remember some teachers and others making me feel as if I would not amount to anything.”

Kutty’s 8th grade teacher then changed the course of his life. “My teacher knew my father was a Ph.D. student and he was aware of my immigrant background,” Kutty said. “He forced me to move from the back of the classroom to the front row. On nearly every assignment he would say, ‘Faisal, go put up the answer.’”

At one point that year, that same teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they were older. “I said I wanted to be a teacher just to make him feel good, but deep down I felt I wasn’t smart enough,” Kutty said. “My teacher said, ‘That’s wonderful! I think you’d be an amazing teacher.’ The fact that he believed in me so much changed me.”

By the time Kutty started ninth grade his grades soared and he earned a university scholarship. A Canadian citizen and married father of two girls, Kutty now divides his time between teaching and directing the International LL.M. Program at Valparaiso University Law School and teaching as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada. He sees himself as a ‘Can-American, Muslim, lawyer, law professor, and activist.’ The activist bug bit Kutty in college. It was at York University that he became president of the Muslim Students Association.

I went to law school to fight for justice, and make a difference in society.

After completing law school, Kutty started the Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association and co-founded the Council on American/Islamic Relations, now called the National Council on Canadian Muslims. He later established a law firm in Canada, growing it to eight lawyers. After the practice became successful he was able to pursue human rights work, civil rights work and community advocacy.

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Faisal Kutty, is an associate professor of law and director of the International LL.M. Program at Valparaiso University Law School and an adjunct professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. He is also a co-founder of KSM Law for which he serves as counsel. He is a regular columnist for The Express Tribune and his work frequently appears in The Toronto Star. His academic articles are archived at SSRN.

Follow Faisal on Twitter | @faisalkutty

Website: www.TheMuslimLawyer.com