The Rational Tradition in Islam - Muhsin Mahdi

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Muhsin Mahdi, James Richard Jewett Professor of Arabic, was, in recent years, one of the outstanding figures both in the intellectual study of the Islamic Middle East and in the lively ongoing discussions among important Arabic intellectuals. Born in Iraq, Mahdi became one of the world's leading authorities on Arabic history, philology, and philosophy.An expert in medieval Arabic political thought, Muhsin Mahdi was a professor of Arabic at Harvard since 1969. During his tenure, he served as the director of the University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies and was the soul of the efforts to keep a lively program in Middle Eastern Studies in the 70s and 80s.Prior to coming to Harvard, Muhsin Mahdi taught at the University of Baghdad (1947-1957). He was also a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Chicago (1958-1969), where he held the title of chairman of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He held the rare distinction of serving as a corresponding member of Cairo's Academy of Arabic Language.Muhsin Mahdi earned a B.A. from the American University in Beirut and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He conducted postdoctoral study and research at the University of Paris and at the University of Freiburg and held visiting professorships at Cairo's American University, the Central Institute of Islamic Research in Pakistan, and at the University of California in Los Angeles. The American University in Cairo awarded him an honorary doctorate this June for his many intellectual contributions to Middle Eastern Studies.From his early book on Ibn Khaldun to his recent books on al-Farabi, his work has been transformative and often seminal in the study of Islamic history. His kindliness and generous interest in the work of his students and colleagues inspired many generations of grateful colleagues. http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/ecmes/news/muhsin_mahdi