Angelika Neuwirth (born 1943) is a German Islamic studies scholar and professor of Quranic studies at Freie University in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Quranic education

Born in

Nienburg, Lower Saxony Nienburg (, official name: ''Nienburg/Weser'') (Low German: ''Nienborg'', ''Neenborg'' or ''Negenborg'') is a town and capital of the district Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Situated on the scenic German Timber-Frame Road, Nienbur ...

, she studied Islamic studies, semitic studies and classical philology at the Universities of Berlin, Tehran, Göttingen, Jerusalem, and Munich.

Posts held

Neuwirth is also the director of the research project

Corpus Coranicum Corpus Coranicum is a digital research project of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The project makes sources accessible that are relevant for the history of the Quran. These primary texts include Jewish, Christian, and o ...

. Between 1994 and 1999, she was the director of the German Institute of Oriental Studies in Beirut and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. She currently works as a professor in Freie University in Berlin and as a visiting professor at the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. ...

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, and her research focuses on the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

, its interpretations, and modern Arabic literature in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

poetry and prose related to the

Arab-Israeli conflict The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

Awards

In 2011 she was named an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2012 was granted an honorary doctorate from Yale University's Department of Religious Studies. In June 2013, the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...

awarded her its

Sigmund Freud Prize The Sigmund Freud Prize or Sigmund Freud Prize for Academic Prose (German ''Sigmund Freud-Preis für wissenschaftliche Prosa'') is a German literary award named after Sigmund Freud and awarded by the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (Ge ...

for her research on the Qur'an. In July 2018 she was elected as a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

Publications

* * * English translation: * * * (''The Qur'ān: A Hand-Commentary with German Translation.'') Five volumes planned: * (''Volume 1: Early Meccan Suras. Poetic Prophecy'') * (''Volume 2/1: Early Middle Meccan Suras. The New People of God.'')

References

German orientalists Living people German Islamic studies scholars History of Quran scholars 1943 births Women scholars of Islam Women orientalists {{edu-bio-stub