Thomas: Intro to the German ’Inarah’ School of Criticism!

Thomas Alexander in this video introduces the main players in the German ’Inarah’ School of Islamic Studies, a group of scholars headquartered in the Sarbrucken (primarily) area of Western Germany. He began by pointing to the principal members of the German Critical School on Islamic history: Ignaz Goldziher (1850-1921) who was a Jewish Hungarian orientalist and scholar of Islam, considered by many as one of the founders of modern Islamic studies in Germany. Theodor Nöldeke (1836-1930) a German orientalist, and semitist (scholar of the Semitic languages), as well as a linguist, and another of the founders of modern Islamic studies in Germany. Christian Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) a Dutch orientalist, Arabist and Semitist, yet another founder of modern Islamic studies in Germany. Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) a Baltic German Lutheran theologian, and prominent Church historian. In his studies he assumed a Jewish-Christian origin to the Qur’an. David He