Ghani Alani was born in 1937 in Baghdad, Iraq. From the age of 12 he studied calligraphy under the Iraqi calligrapher Hashem Al-Khattat, Grand Master of the School of Baghdad, from whom he received the "Ijaze".

He was the only student of Hashem Al-Khattat to receive the "Ijaze", which makes him part of a historic lineage of calligraphers dating back to Abbasid times.

After graduating from Baghdad University with a degree in law, he attended the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He moved to Paris in 1967 to complete his PhD; he continues to live in Paris to this day.