He was born in Gaza, Palestine in 1950. He received the first eleven years of formal education in Dair El-Balah. In 1967, he left Gaza Strip to Amman, Jordan, in order to complete the twelfth year of his education. Between 1968 and 1972, he attended Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. After obtaining his B.A. in English Education, in June 1972, he accepted a teaching job in Tripoli schools, Libya. He also participated in some journalistic activities there. In 1976, he left Libya with his family to the United Arab Emirates, where he accepted another teaching job in Ras Al-Khaimah schools. In 1986, he attended the Graduate School at the University of Georgia, where he received his M.A. in Cultural Anthropology, in 1988, and his Ph.D. in Sociology in 1993. In 1999, he and his family became American citizens.