Ridwan Al-Sayyid was born in Lebanon, graduated from al-Azhar University in Cairo and obtained his doctorate in Islamic Studies from the University of Tübingen. He was a visiting Professor at both the Harvard University and the University of Chicago from 1993 to 1997. He was Director of the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Beirut and subsequently Director of the Arab Development Institute there. He has been managing editor of the journal al-Ijtihād and has authored or edited numerous books in Arabic and German.
