Annachiara Raia is an Africanist specialised in Swahili Muslim intellectual traditions with a background in the languages, history and cultures of the Islamic countries. She has studied Classical Arabic, Swahili and Somali languages and literature at the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ (Italy). She holds a PhD (2018 cum laude) in Literatures in African Languages and Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, in cotutelle between the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ and the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies at Bayreuth University (Germany).