Joel Hayward

Joel Hayward hafidhahullah is a New Zealand-born British scholar and author with a career spanning academia, strategic studies, and Islamic thought. He holds the position of Professor of Strategic Thought at the Rabdan Academy in the United Arab Emirates. His previous academic leadership roles include Director of the Institute of International and Civil Security, Chair of the multidisciplinary Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Khalifa University (UAE), and Dean of the Royal Air Force College (UK). The daily newspaper Al Khaleej described him as a world authority on international conflict and strategy, while Kirkus Reviews noted him as one of academia's most visible Islamic thinkers. He has earned ijazat (teaching authorizations) in Aqidah (Islamic theology) and Sirah (the biography of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The 2023 edition of The Muslim 500 listed him among the world's five hundred most influential Muslims, noting his approach of weaving classical Islamic knowledge with the source-critical Western historical method. He holds qualifications including a ZDaF, BA, MA Hons, and PhD.