BIO Aref Ali Nayed

Dr. Aref Ali Nayed is a Libyan statesman, scholar, and leading voice in interfaith dialogue. He is the Founder and Chairman of Kalam Research & Media (KRM), Chairman of the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS), and the Ihya Libya (Reviving Libya) movement. He previously served as Libya’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and was Chief Operations Manager of the Libya Stabilization Team during the 2011 revolution.

Dr. Nayed has held senior academic and advisory roles worldwide, including appointments at the University of Virginia, the Templeton Foundation, the University of Cambridge, and the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute in Jordan. He was also appointed to the Higher Academic Council of Mohamed Zayed University for Humanities in the UAE. A former professor at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome and ISTAC in Malaysia, he has taught Islamic theology, logic, and philosophy for decades.

A key figure in global interfaith relations, Dr. Nayed was one of the original 138 signatories of A Common Word and has engaged in high-level dialogue with institutions such as the Vatican and the World Council of Churches. He holds degrees from the University of Guelph, University of Toronto, and Pontifical Gregorian University.