When Bilal Orfali reflects on his journey in Arabic and Islamic Studies, he often returns to a surprising beginning: mathematics. Raised in Lebanon during the Civil War, he first pursued a degree in math at the American University of Beirut, preparing for a career as a teacher. “I always enjoyed teaching,” he recalls. “But in my very last semester, I took an Arabic class because it was a requirement — and I loved it. I began to see that Arabic could be a path into scholarship and research that extended beyond the classroom.”
Encouraged by professors who recognized his unusual talent, Orfali added Arabic as a second major, eventually earning a master’s degree and then a PhD at Yale University. There, he broadened his studies to include Persian and religious studies, approaching religion as literature. “The class I teach now at NYU Abu Dhabi, Qur’an as Literature, comes directly from this interest,” he explains. “We talk about characters, narrative, and emotions. Students love it because it opens a new way of reading.”
Orfali has previously taught at The Ohio State University and the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he rose through the ranks to full professor and directed both the Center for Arts and Humanities and AUB Press. Today, as a Professor of Middle East and Arab Studies and Associate Dean for Research at NYUAD, Orfali stands at the forefront of efforts to elevate Arabic as a language of global scholarship.
“I want Arabic to be a scientific language too,” he says. “That means working on the terms, the vocabulary, and the sentence structures to carry big ideas. How do you discuss ‘intertextuality’ or ‘post-colonialism’ without the right words? These are the building blocks of a true academic language, and developing those terms is what makes scholarship possible.”
It is a vision that extends beyond the classroom. Orfali edits four major journals and oversees three book series, creating platforms that meet the highest international standards while publishing in Arabic. He insists that original scholarship — not just translations — should appear in Arabic, even from Western scholars. “Why not encourage original research in Arabic — even from non-native speakers?” he asks. “If you study German literature, you publish in German. Arabic deserves the same treatment.”
This commitment has translated into concrete initiatives in the UAE. Orfali works closely with government partners on language policy, publishing, and cultural events such as the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Congress for Creative Industries, Sheikh Zayed Prize, and Arabian Days Festival.
“The number of projects this government has related to Arabic is incredible,” he says. “If you’re in this field, you want to be where things are happening. And that’s here, in the heart of the Arab world.”
In addition to these endeavors, Orfali’s own scholarly work has yielded a prolific array of publications and manuscript research. He has edited over twenty critical editions of classical Arabic manuscripts. In doing so, Orfali has brought to light lost or long-neglected works in fields ranging from Qur’an studies and classical Arabic literature to Sufi mysticism and even the rich Islamic tradition of dream interpretation.
Through such rigorous scholarship, he not only preserves significant texts from the past but also reintroduces them into modern intellectual discourse, reinforcing Arabic’s role as a language of vibrant academic inquiry.
Teaching remains central to his mission. In his role at NYUAD, Orfali thrives on the diversity of the student body and the particular resonance he finds with Emirati students. “It’s a way we connect at that level of identity — what does it mean to speak Arabic, to be a native speaker, to have this heritage?” he reflects. He points to former students who, after taking Arabic literature courses, furthered their career paths in computer science, psychology, and engineering. “They became better at their fields by connecting with their culture and heritage. That’s the kind of transformation I hope to inspire.”
Looking ahead, Orfali is determined to see Arabic thrive in every field. “I would like students to talk to each other in Arabic and to write in Arabic as well as English,” he says. “One does not exclude the other, but Arabic must remain part of the conversation.”
Through his scholarship, editorial leadership, and vision for the future, Orfali is ensuring that Arabic continues to be a living, evolving force that speaks not just of heritage, but of possibility.
