Dr Walid Ghali

Dr Ghali is the Head of Aga Khan Library, London and Associate Professor of Islamic and Arabic studies at AKU-ISMC. He is a chartered librarian with twenty-three years of experience in various academic roles.

He received his PhD in 2012 from Cairo University, Faculty of Arts in Islamic manuscripts studies. He attended courses and workshop in Muslim cultures at Copenhagen University, Cambridge University and Institue of Arabic Manuscripts. Prior joining AKU in 2012, Dr Ghali worked in various librarian roles in the American University in Cairo, where he completed course works of Master in Islamic Studies and a diploma in Executive Management from the Institute of Management. He also held several consultancy roles in and outside Egypt, such as the Ministry of Endowment, Qatar University and the Supreme Council for Culture in Kuwait. He lectured and delivered papers at international events in Egypt, Syria, UAE and Qatar.

Dr Ghali organizes a yearly workshop on Arabic manuscript studies. Dr Ghali published in different research areas related to Islamic manuscripts, Islamic intellectual life and knowledge management, and Arabic literature. His forthcoming publication is the outcomes of working on personal documents belonging to the Egyptian leading figure and Muslim reformer, Muhammad Abduh (d.1905).

He coordinates and teaches a course on Sufism for MA students. He is also actively involved in other teaching activities at the IIS and ISMC in courses related to the history of Islamic manuscripts, Quran recitations, Arabic literature and Pre-Islamic poetry. He serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Abdou-Filali Ansari Occasional Papers published by the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations.

In 2020, Dr Ghali has been elected to become a member of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Manuscript Association. He is also an active member of different associations such as Middle East Studies Associations, and Middle East Libraries European Committee.