The Khowessah/El-Khawas family project is open to all who are interested in working together to find their common heritage through sharing of information and DNA testing. All variant spellings are welcome, so if your Surname is missing and should be included, we'll be glad to add it. The patriach to the El-Khawas and Khowessah families in Egypt is believed to be the well known sufi sheikh - Ali al-Khawwas al-Burullusi, who died in 1532 C.E. / 939 Hijra. The El-Khawas and Khowies surnames also exist in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Its not known whether all of these families share a common ancestor. We hope that through DNA testing and sharing of information it can be determined to what extent our families are related and how the familes separated. We also hope that through DNA testing and comparison to other DNA samples and projects, we can learn more about the ancestoral origins of the family. DNA results collected from the Khowessah family so far demonstrate a genetic affinity to members of the Banu Tameem tribe in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Yemen. The Banu Tameem tribe traces its lineage to Adnan, and the Prophets Ismail and Ibrahim (a.s.), and is a sister-clan to Quraysh. We recommend that those interested in participating begin by ordering a 37 marker Y-DNA testing kit. A Surname Project traces members of a family that share a common surname. Since surnames are passed down from father to son like the Y-chromosome, this test is for males taking a Y-DNA test. Females do not carry their father's Y-DNA, so the tested individual must be a male that wants to check his direct paternal line (father's father's father's...). Females who would like to check their direct paternal line can have a male relative with their surname order a Y-DNA test.