IN SHORT

Dr Naif A. Al-Mutawa is a practising clinical psychologist, but he is most known for his comic The 99, which uses the Quran as inspiration for superheroes. “I created The 99 because the stories about Islam dominating the media were all too negative, so I wanted to step up and change that.” Naif is grateful for all of the mentorship and encouragement that helped him on his path, and he advises the youth to take advantage of mentors on their own paths: “Ask questions, and don’t assume you know everything, because I couldn’t have gotten to where I was without mentoring—it just wouldn’t have been possible.”