Majid Khadduri (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: مجيد خدوري) (September 27, 1909 – January 25, 2007) was an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i–born academic. He was founder of the

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of th ...

Middle East Studies Middle Eastern studies (sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies) is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, and geography of the Middle East, an area that is gene ...

program, a division of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

based in Washington, D.C. Internationally, he was recognized as a leading authority on a wide variety of Islamic subjects, modern history and the politics of the Middle East. He was the author of more than 35 books in English and Arabic and hundreds of articles.

Personal life

Khadduri was born in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

in 1909 where he lived until 1928, when he graduated high school. Afterwards he headed to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

, where he received his B.A. in 1932. He followed this up with a Ph. D in International Law and Political Science in 1938. From 1939 to 1947 he worked for the Iraqi Ministry of Education and as a law professor at the Higher Teachers College. In 1946 he was a member of the first Iraqi delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and helped draft the organization's charter.Personality: Professor Majid Khadduri
/ref> He had two brothers, Khalid, and Dulel, and two sisters Mathela and Khairiya. He married Madjia Dawaff, who died in 1972, and had two children: Farid and Shirin, who in turn gave him three grandchildren. He died on January 25, 2007 at a care facility in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

Academic life

After his experiences at the

, Khadduri returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he was a professor at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

and his alma mater, the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He then taught at

, where he founded the SAIS Middle Eastern Studies program and served until 1970. From 1960 to 1980, he served as director of Center for Middle East Studies. It was there that he offered some of the first courses on

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

in the nation. His graduates included: *

Elie Salem Elie Salem (born 1930) is a Lebanese academic and politician. He served as the deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs between 1982 and 1984. He was the president of the University of Balamand. Early life and education Salem was b ...

, former foreign minister of Lebanon * Soliman Solaim, former

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

n commerce minister *

Samuel W. Lewis Samuel Winfield Lewis (October 1, 1930 – March 10, 2014) was an American diplomat. During a lengthy career with the United States Department of State, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (1975–1977) ...

, United States

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Hermann Eilts Hermann Frederick Eilts (March 23, 1922 – October 12, 2006) was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat. He served as an American ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, assisted Henry Kissinger's Mideast shuttle diplomacy effort, wo ...

, United States ambassador to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Malcolm H. Kerr Malcolm Hooper Kerr (October 8, 1931 – January 18, 1984) was a university professor specializing in the Middle East and the Arab world. An American citizen, he was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, where he died. He served as president o ...

, assassinated president of the American University of Beirut Throughout his tenure, he was also a visiting professor at institutions such as

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He also founded the Shaybani Society of International Law, the International Association of Middle East Studies and the

University of Libya The University of Libya ( ar, الجامعة الليبية) was a public university based in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya. The university was established in 1955 and disestablished in 1973, when its colleges were split into two new universities ...

in Benghazi where he served as dean in 1957.

Honors and awards

Philosophical Society The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

grant *Fellowship from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

grant *

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

grant (three times) *Honorary LHDs from Johns Hopkins and the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

Order of Merit (Egypt) The Order of Merit is an Egyptian order of merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or fo ...

, first class *

Order of the Two Rivers The Order of the Two Rivers ( ar, وسام الرافدين ''Wisam Al Rafidain'') was an Order awarded by the Kings of Iraq and then the Presidents of Iraq. History It was named after the two rivers the Euphrates and the Tigris that flow thro ...

*Honorary fellow of the

Middle East Studies Association Middle East Studies Association (often referred to as MESA) is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encoura ...

*Member of the

Academy of Arabic Language An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

*Member of the

Iraqi Academy Iraqi or Iraqis (in plural) means from Iraq, a country in the Middle East, and may refer to: * Iraqi people or Iraqis, people from Iraq or of Iraqi descent * A citizen of Iraq, see demographics of Iraq * Iraqi or Araghi ( fa, عراقی), someone o ...

Published works

*''Modern Libya: A Study in Political Development'' (June 1963) *''Political Trends in the Arab World: The Role of Ideas and Ideals in Politics'' (January 1970) *''Arab Contemporaries: The Role of Personalities in Politics'' (June 1973) *''War and Peace in the Law of Islam'' (June 1977) *''Socialist Iraq: A Study in Iraqi Politics since 1968'' (January 1978) *''Independent Iraq, Nineteen Thirty-Two to Nineteen Fifty-Eight: A Study in Iraqi Politics'' (June 1980) *''Arab Personalities in Politics'' (April 1981) *''Law in the Middle East: Origin and Development of Islamic Law'' (editor Herbert J. Liebesny) (October 1982) *''Political Trends in the Arab World: The Role of Ideas and Ideals'' (June 1983) *''The Arab Gulf States: Steps Toward Political Participation'' (with John Peterson) (February 1988) *''The Gulf War: The Origins and Implications of the Iraq-Iran Conflict'' (May 1988) *''War in the Gulf, 1990-91: The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict and Its Implications'' (with Edmund Ghareeb) (August 2001) *''The Islamic Conception of Justice'' (February 2002)

Works as Editor

*''The Islamic Law of Nations: Shaybani's Siyar'' (February 2002) *''

Al-Shafi'i Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī ( ar, أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ, 767–19 January 820 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian, writer, and schol ...

's ''Risala'': Treatise on the Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khadduri, Majid 1909 births 2007 deaths Middle Eastern studies in the United States Iraqi academics Iraqi emigrants to the United States Indiana University faculty Harvard University staff Johns Hopkins University faculty American University of Beirut alumni University of Chicago alumni People from Mosul Recipients of the Order of Merit (Egypt)