Tarif Khalidi
Encyclopedia
Tarif Khalidi born January 24, 1938 in Jerusalem, is a Palestinian
historian
who now holds the Shaykh Zayid Chair in Islamic and Arabic Studies at the American University of Beirut
in Lebanon
.
. Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi
is Tarif's first cousin. Khalidi's son, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, is a philosophy professor at York University
. The Khalidi family has lived in Jerusalem since the eleventh century and is noted for a long line of judges and scholars. Tarif's father was principal of the Government Arab College in Jerusalem from 1925 until 1948. He also served as Deputy Director of Education under the British Mandate. He was the author of several pioneering works on educational theory and on Palestinian history. Khalidi’s mother came from a prominent Beiruti political family. She was a pioneer feminist, activist and writer; and the first woman in Greater Syria (Syria, Lebanon and Palestine) to publicly remove her veil in 1927. She also translated several literary works into Arabic, including Homer’s Iliad
and Odyssey
, and published her memoirs in 1978.
Khalidi and his family were "driven out of their home in April 1948 by advancing Zionist forces." The family sought refuge in Beirut
.
, Oxford, where he received a B.A. in Modern History in 1960 and his Master’s degree three years later. Between 1960 and 1966, he was an instructor of Cultural Studies at the American University of Beirut.
Khalidi received a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago
in 1970. That year he returned to AUB as an Assistant Professor in the History Department. He taught at AUB through the Lebanese Civil War
with a brief departure from 1985-1986 to become a Senior Research Associate at St. Antony’s College, Oxford.
In 1996 he was named the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic
and a Fellow of King's College
, Cambridge
as well as director of the Center of Middle Eastern Studies there.
He returned to AUB again in 2002 to occupy his current position as Shaykh Zayid Chair at the Center for Arab and Middle East Studies.
Recent journal articles:
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who now holds the Shaykh Zayid Chair in Islamic and Arabic Studies at the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Family
Khalidi is the son of Ahmad Samih Khalidi (1896–1951) and Anbara Salam (1897–1986), and the brother of historian Walid KhalidiWalid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
. Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi
Rashid Khalidi
Rashid Ismail Khalidi , born 1948, a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East, is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, and director of the Middle East Institute of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.-Family, education and...
is Tarif's first cousin. Khalidi's son, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, is a philosophy professor at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. The Khalidi family has lived in Jerusalem since the eleventh century and is noted for a long line of judges and scholars. Tarif's father was principal of the Government Arab College in Jerusalem from 1925 until 1948. He also served as Deputy Director of Education under the British Mandate. He was the author of several pioneering works on educational theory and on Palestinian history. Khalidi’s mother came from a prominent Beiruti political family. She was a pioneer feminist, activist and writer; and the first woman in Greater Syria (Syria, Lebanon and Palestine) to publicly remove her veil in 1927. She also translated several literary works into Arabic, including Homer’s Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, and published her memoirs in 1978.
Khalidi and his family were "driven out of their home in April 1948 by advancing Zionist forces." The family sought refuge in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.
Academic career
In 1952, Khalidi attended Haileybury College in Hertford, England where he was on the classical side (Latin, Greek and Ancient History). He went on to University CollegeUniversity College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
, Oxford, where he received a B.A. in Modern History in 1960 and his Master’s degree three years later. Between 1960 and 1966, he was an instructor of Cultural Studies at the American University of Beirut.
Khalidi received a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1970. That year he returned to AUB as an Assistant Professor in the History Department. He taught at AUB through the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
with a brief departure from 1985-1986 to become a Senior Research Associate at St. Antony’s College, Oxford.
In 1996 he was named the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic
Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic
Sir Thomas Adams’ Professor of Arabic – the title is used at Cambridge University because Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet , Lord Mayor of London in 1645, gave to Cambridge University the money needed to create the first Professorship of Arabic....
and a Fellow of King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
as well as director of the Center of Middle Eastern Studies there.
He returned to AUB again in 2002 to occupy his current position as Shaykh Zayid Chair at the Center for Arab and Middle East Studies.
Publications
Books- (Co-editor) Al-Jahiz: A Muslim Humanist for our Time (Wurzburg/Beirut: Ergon Verlag, 2009).
- of Muhammad: Narratives of the Prophet in Islam Across the Centuries (New York: Doubleday, 2009). ISBN 9780385518161
- The Qur’an: A New Translation (London:Penguin Classics, 2008). ISBN 978-1846140211
- Muslim Jesus; Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature (Cambridge, Mass.:Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, 2001). ISBN 978-0674004771 - Arabic Historical Thought in the Classical Period (Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1994). ISBN 978-0521589383 - Classical Arab Islam (Princeton: Darwin Press, 1985). ISBN 978-0878500482
- Editor, Land Tenure and Social Transformation in the Middle East ( Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1984). ISBN 9780815660712
- A Study in the Meaning and Method of History (in Arabic; Beirut: Dar al-Tali`a, 1982).
- Studies in the History of Arabic Islamic Culture (in Arabic; Beirut: Dar al-Tali`a, 1977).
- Islamic Historiography: The Histories of Mas`udi (Albany: SUNY Press, 1975). ISBN 9780873952828
Recent journal articles:
- "A World Historian and his Vision: at-Tabari, the Qur’an and History”, Al-Abhath, vol.55-56 (2007–2008).
- "Death and the Badi` in Early `Abbasid Poetry: The Elegy for al-Numayri by `Abdullah ibn al-Mu`tazz" (with Maher Jarrar), Al-Abhath, vol. 54 (2006).
- "Jesus, Islam and World Dialogue", Concilium, 39/4 (October 2003).
- "Poetry and Identity in the Umayyad Age" (with S.S.Agha), Al-Abhath, vol.50-51, (2002–2003).
- Article "Arabs", Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, ed. J.D.McAuliffe , Leiden: Brill, 2002.
- "Reflections on Periodisation in Arabic Historiography", The Medieval History Journal, vol.1, number 1 (Jan-June, 1998).
- "Islamic Views of the West in the Middle Ages", Studies in Interreligious Dialogue (The Netherlands), 5/1995/1.
External links
- American University of Beirut's Tarif Khalidi Biography web page
- American University of Beirut Wikipedia page