Dr. Ghali
Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies
Head, Aga Khan Library (UK)
Chair, Board of Directors, The Islamic Manuscript Association
Biography
Dr. Ghali is a Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at AKU-ISMC and a specialist in Arabic manuscript studies. He also leads the Aga Khan Library in the United Kingdom. In addition to his administrative duties, he teaches a range of subjects for MA students, including Introduction to Sufism, Arabic Literature, and Muslim Thinkers in the 19th Century.
He is one of the lead editors of the Abdou-Filali Ansari Occasional Papers published by AKU-ISMC. Dr. Ghali is also the Chair of the Board of Directors at the Islamic Manuscript Association , where he leads an annual workshop on Islamic codicology aimed at increasing awareness of Muslim written heritage.
Dr. Ghali earned his PhD from Cairo University, specializing in Arabic manuscript traditions. He also completed coursework for a master’s in Islamic studies at the American University in Cairo. He is a recognised Teaching Fellow by AdvanceHE.
His most recent project focuses on analysing a newly discovered manuscript belonging to the Egyptian Islamic reformer Muḥammad ʿAbduh (d. 1905). As part of this research, Dr. Ghali has two forthcoming publications. His broader research interests include Qur'anic manuscripts, Sufi poetry, philology, and knowledge management in Muslim civilizations.
In addition to his academic work, Dr. Ghali is also a published novelist and short story writer in Arabic. His most recent novel, The Dervish Code, was published in 2023. His fiction offers anthropological narratives about people and life in the Egyptian desert, where he grew up.
Research interests
- Islamic mysticism,
- Arabic manuscripts traditions,
- History of Arabic printing,
- Arabic literature,
- Muslim reformers in 19th century.
Selected publications
Ghali, W. & Emad Abu Ghazi. (2023). Muhammad ‘Abduh’s Program to Restore Democratic Government in Egypt 1883 (Arabic). Cairo, Dar al-Shrouk.
Ghali, W. (2020). Islamic and Middle East Area Studies Librarianship. In: Abdou Filali Ansari Occasional Papers, (v.3, no3), June 2020. 38 pages.
Ghali, W. (2023). Old, New or Digital Philology: Working towards a Consolidated Framework. In: New Methods in the Study of Islam, ed. Abbas Aghdassi, and Aaron Hugh. Brill Publishing.
Ghali, W. (2022). Humour in Islamic Literature and Muslim practices: Virtue or Vice? In: Muslims and Humour: Essays on Comedy, Joking, and Mirth in Contemporary Islamic Contexts. Bristol University Press.· Ghali, W. (2022). In Making a Holograph: Authorial Arabic Manuscripts in the Special Collections of the Institute of Ismaili Studies. In: Texts, Scribes and Transmission: Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Communities and Beyond. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Ghali, W. (2022). Poems in praise of the Prophet (madīḥ) as a citizen of the literary world. In: Islam and New Directions in World Literature by Claire Gallien and Sara bin Tayeer. UK: Edinburgh University Press.
Ghali, W. (Dec 2022). The Making of a Qur’ān Manuscript in Lamu Archipelago: The Indian Ocean Cross-Cultural Influence. In: Muslim Cultures in the Indian Ocean by Stephane Pradines and Farouk Topan.
Ghali, W. (2016). The State of Manuscript Digitization Projects in Egypt. Library and Information Science in the Middle East and North Africa, 3, 302-318.
Ghali, W. (2023). A female court historian inside a Neo-Fatimid treasury of books. Nouvelles Chroniques du manuscrit au Yémen, 17 (Ancienne série 36), 32–37.
Ghali, W. (2022). Book review: Women's activism and new media in the Arab world. Information & Culture, 57(3), 345–347.
Personal links
Academia
LinkedIn
ORCID-ID
Contact
Walid.ghali@aku.edu
