Alsoud, or 'Al' as he prefers to be called, is short arabic man with a long nose and straight, neat black hair. He generally dresses in fine but slightly unfashionable clothing (tweed jackets and the like).
He claims to have recently emigrated from Egypt, where he obtained his doctorate from the University of Cairo and worked with ProfessorMontgomeryScott, the previous head of Archaeology at Jenkin, on an important dig. He was appointed to the post of lecturer in Egyptology at JenkinUniversity in November of 1921, an appointment made necessary by Professor Scott's frequent absences. On his appointment he donated several particularly fine Egyptian pieces to the small museum in the School of Antiquities.
Following the events in TheCasket, particulatly the death of ProfessorMontgomeryScott, Alsoud is the most senior Archaeologist at Jenkin. This doesn't quite give him the status of head of a faculty, it just means he has more work to do, but on the plus side it means there is noone around on the staff who is likely to dispute his competence. However recently AlexAngelotti, one of his graduate students, has begun to complain that Alsoud doesn't seem to have the detailed knowledge of his subject that his position requires.
Alsoud mainly socialises through TheUnitySociety and functions at Jenkin, and his friends will have noticed that for a recent immigrant his command of English and idiom is particularly good. When he does visit the society library, he seems more interested in books on the occult than in any kind of archaeology.
Al visits the club frequently and is normally quite happy to join in whatever discussions are taking place. Occasionally however he will settle down in the library with one of the more obscure texts, and seems to truly resent interruptions at these times. He at first seemed a little taken aback by the presence of women as members of the club, but now holds the opinion that they improve the atmosphere considerably. He is especially respectful of LisaDaVinci.
On arriving in Unity Alsoud bought a small, but well appointed house in OldUnity not too far from the University and employs a part time housekeeper. Sugar and molasses are not permitted within his home (see UnearthlyGoode). He keeps a small pistol in his bedroom, but has never been known to carry it outside his home.
In light of the spate of burglaries detailed in UnearthlyGoode, he move a locked box containing some personal keepsakes from his archaeological work in Egypt into a safe deposit box at the local bank. He has also been encouraging the archaeological department to improve their night time security, in light of the many (moderately) valuable artifacts stored in the SchoolOfAntiquities.
Alsoud has one of the keys to the crate at 12 Devon Lane in which the TransmogrificationMachine is stored; the other is in the care of JosephCarey.
Alsoud has begun a study of the SandPeople, and is currently trying to track down any pre-Egyptian artifacts which have been misclassified as Egyptian.
Alsoud's secrets are detailed in AlsoudPrivateBackground.