His grandfather was director Zaki Toleimat, grandmother actress Rose al Yusuf, and his uncle writer Ihsan Abdel Koudous.

[6] In 2005, his play Back of the Throat premiered, confronting anti-Arab sentiment in the US, and received notice from theatres, press, and academia.

[1][2][3][9] Formerly literary manager in the early 2000s, El Guindi became an artistic associate at the Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco in the 2010s.

"Guindi's works focus on themes of the immigrant experience, cultural and political climates, and current issues facing Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans.

"[18] In analyzing his work, Anneka Esch-Van Kan wrote: Language in El Guindi’s plays is the basis of any construction of reality.

Actor-director Orson Welles, director Howard Hawks, and writer William Faulkner visited El Guindi's family home.