Aref Ali Nayed

Dr. Aref Ali Nayed (Arabic: عارف علي النايض, romanized: ʿArif ʿAli al-Nayid; born 1962) is a Libyan Islamic scholar, businessman and politician who served as Libyan Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2011 to 2016. Nayed is the founder and director of Kalam Research & Media (KRM), based in Tripoli, Libya and Dubai. Until the outbreak of the revolution in Libya, he lectured on Islamic theology, logic, and spirituality at the restored Uthman Pasha Madrassa in Tripoli, and supervised graduate students at the Islamic Call College there. Before the liberation of Tripoli in 2011, he was appointed by the National Transitional Council as the coordinator of the Tripoli Taskforce. When Tripoli was liberated in late August 2011, the remit was broadened and he was made the lead coordinator of the Libya Stabilization Team. Earlier in the year, he was the coordinator for the Support Offices of the Executive Team of the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya. He is also the secretary of the Network of Free Ulema – Libya. According to the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Nayed is ranked 50th among the top 500 most influential Muslims in the world.