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Aref Ali Nayed is an experienced statesman with a clear vision for Libya and what it will take to build a stable, democratic, and prosperous country.<\/p>\n
As a pragmatic and resilient community leader, experienced businessman, and well-respected scholar, he has built a reputation for a collaborative leadership approach that get things done. He has made it his life\u2019s work to improve the lives of Libyans and rebuild the country.<\/p>\n
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Aref Ali Nayed is an experienced statesman with a clear vision for Libya and what it will take to build a stable, democratic, and prosperous country.<\/p>\n
As a pragmatic and resilient community leader, experienced businessman, and well-respected scholar, he has built a reputation for a collaborative leadership approach that get things done. He has made it his life\u2019s work to improve the lives of Libyans and rebuild the country.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.6.6″ background_enable_color=”off” custom_padding=”0px||70px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”27px|0px|0|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][lwp_divi_breadcrumbs use_before_icon=”on” before_icon=”%%102%%” link_color=”#0061af” separator_color=”#0061af” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” module_font=”||||||||” custom_margin=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/lwp_divi_breadcrumbs][et_pb_text admin_label=”1″ _builder_version=”4.10.7″ custom_padding=”0px|||||” animation_direction=”top” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr Aref Ali Nayed is a leading Libyan public figure and Chairman of the Ihya Libya<\/strong><\/a> Movement. He has been involved in Libya\u2019s struggle for democracy since 2011. He was a former Special Envoy of the President of the House of Representatives to USA, UK, European and African Unions, and played a vital and positive role in the revitalization of the Libyan political track. He was also the former Ambassador of Libya to the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n Privately, he is Chairman of the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies<\/a> (LIAS)<\/strong> and Kalam Research and Media<\/a> (KRM)<\/strong>, which also owns one of Libya\u2019s most respected news channels: Libya\u2019s Channel<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n His background, expertise and influence span a unique nexus of tribal, scholarly, business and diplomatic domains. Nayed was born in Benghazi<\/strong> in 1962 and raised in Tripoli<\/strong>, Libya. His father, the late Ali Ahmed Nayed, was one of the most important civil contractors in Libya, responsible for building much of the country\u2019s infrastructure in the 1960s and 1970s. He is from the Wirfalla<\/strong> tribes, his mother is from the Tarhuna<\/strong> tribes, and his wife is from Misratan<\/strong> tribes based in Benghazi.<\/p>\n Scholarly Background<\/strong><\/p>\n Nayed\u2019s early interests were primarily in academia and particularly in philosophy, theology, and interfaith relations. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering<\/strong> from the University of Guelph<\/strong> in Canada. At Guelph he became deeply interested in philosophy and in science and stayed on to complete an MA in the Philosophy of Science<\/strong>, and then a PhD in Hermeneutics<\/strong>. He pursued further studies in Islamic philosophy and theology at the University of Toronto<\/strong> and then specialized in Christian theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome<\/strong>. He has held several academic positions and was Professor at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (Rome)<\/strong>, and at the International Institute for Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC, Malaysia)<\/strong>. Until 2011, Nayed lectured in Islamic theology, logic and philosophy at the restored Uthman Pasha Madrasa<\/strong> in the Old Madina of Tripoli<\/strong>. He still supervises advanced students in philosophy, theology, and interfaith until now.<\/p>\n Nayed is also regarded as one of the leading Muslim figures in the field of inter-faith relations and was one of the 138 original signatories of the \u201cA Common Word<\/strong>\u201d, initiated by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, and has been a leading member of the bilateral consultations and dialogue at Cambridge\/Lambeth Palace, Rome, Amman and Geneva<\/strong>. Nayed has maintained dialogue and collaboration with key Christian institutions such as the Vatican, the World Council of Churches and various divinity centres at major universities.<\/p>\n He is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Virginia<\/strong>, a member of the Board of Advisors of the prestigious Templeton Foundation<\/strong>; Senior Advisor to the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme at the University of Cambridge, UK<\/strong>; and also a former Visiting Scholar at Pembroke College, Cambridge<\/strong>. Nayed has a strong scholarly connection with Cambridge and in October 2009 he delivered a keynote speech on \u201cEcologies of Peace<\/strong>\u201d, where he expounded a theology of compassion and love and argued for its centrality in the Islamic faith and civilization. His work with Cambridge continues with the Rose Castle Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nayed also has a deep scholarly affiliation with Jordan, where he is Senior Fellow of the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought<\/strong> in Jordan<\/strong>, and has worked closely with His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad on projects related to inter-faith and ecumenical initiatives. He has been included over several years in the list of top 50 most influential Muslims<\/strong> published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Amman<\/strong>, because of his inter-faith work. He is also the recipient of Jordan\u2019s prestigious \u2018Hussein Medal of the First Order<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p>\n In 2009<\/strong>, Nayed established Kalam Research and Media (KRM)<\/strong><\/a> in Dubai and later in Amman, Tripoli, and Benghazi as a think tank specializing in the articulation and revival of a robust, mainstream and orthodox Islamic theology (Kalam<\/em>), and in engagement with current crossroads in philosophy, science and culture. KRM has built an affective network of scholarly collaboration between key Muslim institutions around the world and is embarking on key projects to reassert the importance of sophisticated and compassionate theology within the Islamic tradition as a countervailing force against extreme and ideological religious discourses.<\/p>\n Nayed is an important member of all major scholarly networks in Libya, especially Azhari Ulema<\/strong>, and also of Sufi networks<\/strong>. He has\u00a0ijazas<\/em>\u00a0from major Libyan Ulema and Sufi masters, including an\u00a0Ijaza<\/em>\u00a0from Her Majesty the late Queen Fatima al-Shifa (wife of the late King Idris I).<\/p>\n \u00a0His published works include\u00a0Western Engagements:<\/em>\u2008<\/em>Speeches in Washington DC and London<\/em>\u00a0(KRM\/LIAS, 2020);\u00a0Hellenic Engagements:<\/em>\u2008<\/em>Resetting Libya-Greece Relations\u00a0<\/em>(KRM\/RIEAS\/ LIAS, 2020);\u00a0UN<\/em>\u2008<\/em>Engagements:<\/em>\u2008<\/em>Open Letters and Statements to the Special Envoys of the UN<\/em>\u2008<\/em>Mission to Libya<\/em>\u00a0(KRM\/LIAS, 2020);\u00a0Russian Engagements: On Libyan Politics and Libyan-Russian Relations in Muslim-Catholic Dialogue<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2019);\u00a0Radical Engagements: Essays on Religion, Extremism, Politics, and Libya<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2017);\u00a0Vatican Engagements: A Muslim Theologian\u2019s Journey in Muslim-Catholic Dialogue<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2016);\u00a0Operational Hermeneutics: Interpretation as the Engagement of Operational Artifacts<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2011); co-authored with Jeff Mitscherling and Tanya Ditommaso,\u00a0The Author\u2019s Intention<\/em>\u00a0(Lexington Books, 2004);\u00a0ISIS in Libya:<\/em>\u2008<\/em>Winning the Propaganda War<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2015);\u00a0Overcoming ISIS Libya:<\/em>\u2008<\/em>A Disaster Recovery Plan<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2015);\u00a0Libya:<\/em>\u2008<\/em>From Revolutionary Legitimacy to Constitutional Legitimacy<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2014);\u00a0Beyond Fascism<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2013);\u00a0Growing Ecologies of Peace, Compassion and Blessing: A Muslim Response to \u2018A Muscat Manifesto<\/em>\u2019 (KRM, 2010); and\u00a0Duties of Proximity: Towards a Theology of Neighborliness<\/em>\u00a0(KRM, 2010).<\/p>\n Business and Project Management Background<\/strong><\/p>\n Parallel to his academic endeavors, Nayed has almost 20 years experience in the IT and Communication sector. He initially started out in his father\u2019s construction firm as an engineer, then site engineer, project engineer, safety coordinator, and eventually project manager for special intense projects that included electrical cable laying and pipeline projects in the Bani Walid area. He also worked as human resource manager and assisted in several conflict resolution situations. In 1997, at the behest of his father, Nayed set up an ICT company: Agathon Systems<\/strong> (with its subsidiary Alada<\/strong><\/a>), with offices in Libya, UAE<\/strong> and India<\/strong>, and a market coverage throughout the Middle East and North Africa. With a strong team of highly qualified and skilled and certified personnel, it now enjoys direct alliances with global giants like APC, Citrix, Lenovo, IBM, Cisco, NCR, Honeywell, Intermec, Thales, Hubbell, and Microsoft, and its clients include the Central Bank of Libya and major companies in the field of banking, oil, education, commerce and IT.<\/p>\n Nayed studied PMI methodology for Project Management and, as Project Director, oversaw the successful implementation of Libya\u2019s National Payment System (a 5-year nationwide project of massive complexity), in addition to other projects.<\/p>\n Nayed\u2019s business success enabled him to promote philanthropic activity such as funding restoration work of the Uthman Pasha Madrasa<\/strong>, supporting students pursuing graduate and postgraduate studies, funding projects and initiatives in publishing and research in religious scholarship, and a variety of humanitarian work. In later years, he fully supported the Ahli Benghazi Football Club<\/strong>, the city\u2019s most important political institution (founded in 1947<\/strong>), and became its President for several years (a position held by his father the 1960s and 1970s). Most of Benghazi\u2019s youth are Ahly fans.<\/p>\n Diplomatic and Political Work<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2011 Nayed was appointed Libyan Ambassador to the UAE whilst overseeing the Libya stabilization plans. Nayed and his Libyan Stabilisation Team (LST) worked in Benghazi, Misrata, Jabal Nafusa, the southern areas, and Tunisia, where they spent the coming weeks coordinating stabilisation plans with Libyan professionals and local councils. They held meetings over this period with over 600 key Libyan personalities and officials and incorporated their efforts to the wider stabilisation plans. The LST team members worked under life-threatening situations to build the necessary infrastructure for the stabilization of all key areas of the country.<\/p>\n The LST and its members restored electricity, telecommunications, and water supply and fuel, and held regular press briefings in Tripoli and Dubai. The team continued to work on the ground in Libya, liaising with the NTC at the strategic level and with local councils, armed units and various other networks at the operational level. Town hall meetings, deployments of assessment and repair teams, retrieval of telephone records, logistical assistance in the distribution of humanitarian aid were all examples of the wide range of activities under the Team\u2019s remit. Each sector was successfully handed over to the respective NTC ministries within its three-month.<\/p>\n Nayed has in later years gathered key members of the LST, and they together established the foundations of a new think-tank called the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS). LIAS first worked on a \u201cDisaster Recovery Plan\u201d for Libya, and a \u201cGovernment-in-a-Box\u201d governance back office. Later on it developed a full vision for the country called \u201cIhya Libya<\/strong><\/a>\u201d (Reviving Libya<\/strong>).<\/p>\n