Bilal Orfali is a Lebanese scholar of Arabic language and literature. He currently serves as Sheikh Zayed Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
. He is considered an expert on Arabic prose and poetry, especially during the
10th century
The 10th century was the period from 901 ( CMI) through 1000 ( M) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the last century of the 1st millennium.
In China the Song dynasty was established. The Muslim World experienced a cultural zenith, ...
Orfali earned a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the American University of Beirut in 2000, 2001 and 2003 respectively. He then went on to earn a Master of Philosophy in 2006 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 2009, both from Yale University.Bilal Orfali at the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages, American University of Beirut's official site. Accessed February 23, 2013.Orfali, Bilal at the Institute for Advanced Study's official site. Orfali is currently a professor of Arabic studies at AUB, while also having served as a visiting scholar at the prestigious Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey from 2011 to 2012. He also serves as the director of the AUB's intensive CAMES summer program for Arabic language education.
Selected works
Abstracts
*"The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia," taken from ''Encyclopedias About Muslim Civilisations'' by Aptin Khanbaghi (ed), pgs. 25–26. Translated by Yasmeen Hanoosh. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
History
Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
, 2009.
Articles
*
*"A Sketch Map of Arabic Poetry Anthologies up to the Fall of Baghdad." ''Journal of Arabic Literature'', vol. 43, # 1, 2012. Pgs. 29–59.
Edited works
*''In the Shadow of Arabic: The Centrality of Language to Arabic Culture''. Leiden:
Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...
, 2011. 1st ed., 572 pgs.
*''Sufism, Black and White'', with Nada Saab. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2012. 1st ed., 570 pgs.
*''Texts and Studies on the Qurʾān'', with Gerhard Böwering and
Devin J. Stewart
Devin J. Stewart is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic language and literature. His research interests include Islamic law, the Qur'an, Islamic schools and branches and varieties of Arabic.The Comfort of the Mystics at Brill Online.