Hafez Haidar: Writer and Poet, Italy

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Hafez Haidar: Writer and Poet, Italy
Hafez Haidar is a writer and poet of Lebanese descent, but holds Italian citizenship. Haidar was born on May 25, 1953, in Baalbeck, an ancient Roman city known as the “Olympus of the gods." He studied Greek Philosophy at the Arab University of Beirut. After moving to Italy, he studied for several months at the University of Perugia and later transferred to the University of Milan where he graduated with distinction in Modern Literature, specializing in Archiving, Paleography and Diplomacy.
In 1986, Haidar abandoned a diplomatic career and began to devote all his activities to teaching and writing to build a bridge for dialogue between Italy and the Middle East. He has lectured at the University of the Third Age of Milan and Cesano Maderno andat the Academy of the Guardia di Finanza of Bergamo. He currently lectures at the University of Pavia in addition to teaching courses funded by the European Union. Haidar has published several fiction books and essays with leading Italian publishing houses, such as Mondadori, Piemme, Rizzoli, Bompiani, Fabbri, La Meridiana, and Mondolibri.
In 2002, Haidar was awarded the literary ‘Basilicata Section Literature Spiritual and Religious Poetry Prize,’ which had previously been assigned to the likes of the current Emeritus Pope, then Cardinal Ratzinger; Cardinal Ravasi, Minister for Culture of the Vatican Holy See; Elio Toaff, Chief Rabbis Rome; Fr. David Maria Turoldo; poet Mario Luzi; and Professor Franco Cardini.
In 2003, in the capacity of a writer and poet, Haidar participated with Francesco Giorgino, Noa, Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, Custodian of the Holy Land, artists Michele Lobaccaro, and the Quartet Napoletano, in the artistic and cultural evening Mediterranean Night, which was broadcast by Rai Uno to the purpose of the televised show was to establish a bridge for peace between the peoples of southern Italy and the Mediterranean.
Haidar is considered as one of the greatest scholars on the religions of the monotheistic world. He edited and translated many books from Arabic into Italian. Haidar is also the author of many books including best sells such as A Seal upon Your Heart, Muhammad and the Quran Diamonds, Miriam of Jerusalem among many others.
Haidar has won many prestigious awards such as the ‘Prix Dialogue’, the ‘Sorrento Peninsula’ prize, and the ‘San Fele Golden Fiction Career’ among many others.
In September of 2015, D. S. Prof. Luigi De Giorgi of the Verbumlandi Art Cultural Association conferred Professor Hafez Haidar the “Lifetime Achievement Award and was officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. De Giorgi said that this acknowledgment of Professor Haidar as a cultural promoter of the highest level for his works on integration and cultural and religious understanding between peoples; Haidar’s goal is to show that between the Christian and Islamic worlds there is the possibility of peaceful coexistence and homogeneity between the two cultures.