German Society for Islamic Studies

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The German Society for Islamic Studies (abbr. DGI ; English German Society for the Study of Islam ) was founded on January 9, 1912 and existed until 1955. The seat of the society was Berlin .

Organizational matters

The founding members of the society included the German Arabist and Islamic scholar Martin Hartmann (1851–1918) as first chairman and Georg Kampffmeyer (1864–1936) as second chairman and editor of their communications. Other personalities associated with the company include (a selection): Otto Spies , Gotthard Jäschke , Eugen Wednesday , Josef Froberger, Carl Heinrich Becker (1876–1933) and von der Goltz Pascha (field marshal). The library was at the Oriental Languages ​​Seminary .

The truth about the war of faith , propaganda brochure published by the German Society for Islamkunde ("The proceeds are intended for the Red Crescent ")

According to § 1 of its original statutes, the purpose of the society was “to promote research on Islam, that is, to research the religious, social and cultural conditions of the Islamic world with special regard to the present. "Later (1931) this read:" The promotion of Islam research, ie research into ethnic, cultural, religious and economic conditions with special consideration for the present. The pursuit of political or religious purposes is excluded. "

history

The goals of the society were supported in 1912 by the Reich Colonial Office under the direction of Wilhelm Solf with the granting of “a considerable sum”, “with the condition that the work of the society in the German colonies should give due attention to Islam. "

During the First World War , the company became an institution of the Reich government. In a text published by the Society in 1915, Ḥaqīqat aldschihād / The Truth About the War of Faith ( Ḥaqīqat al-ǧihād ), the Tunisian scholar Sheikh Salih asch-Sharif at-Tunisi (1866-1920) explained the novelty of an Islamist jihad . The contemporary Middle East historian Wolfgang G. Schwanitz comments on this understanding of Islam in the context of German alliance policy :

The unusual thing about jihad , " made in Germany ", consisted of a new combination. Muslims no longer waged the traditional religious war of defense or attack against all unbelievers. Rather, they had to fight alongside unbelievers against other unbelievers. On behalf of Envers, the aforementioned Sheikh Salih commented on the novelty. The scholar, who identified himself as coming from the family of the Prophet Muhammad, explained Islamist jihad. The German Society for Islamic Studies in Berlin edited his text half a year after the start of the world war. It said: "The Ottoman Sultan-Caliph is conducting this minor jihad with allies, especially Germans, against the enemies of Islam, the British, French and Russians." This is now an individual duty also for Muslims in the enemy army who practice jihad should immediately turn against their masters. The jihad is led anti-colonial and national.

Karl Emil Schabinger (1877–1967), the head of the German news agency for the Orient , translated the script from Arabic into German.

The news from the contemporary history of the Islamic Orient published by the society appeared from 1921 to 1931.

The society had published the magazine Die Welt des Islams since 1913, which has been published even after the end of the DGI to the present day ( ISSN  0043-2539 ).

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The world of Islam . Volume 1, Berlin 1913.
  2. ↑ The World of Islam (1932), quoted from jstor.org - accessed April 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ The world of Islam . Volume 1, Berlin 1913.
  4. ↑ Sheikh Salih Asharif Attunisi (Salih ash-Sharif at-Tunisi): Haqīqat aldschihād / The truth about the war of faith. From the Arabic by Karl E. Schabinger , preface by Martin Hartmann, published by the German Society for Islamic Studies. Berlin 1915, Dietrich Reimer ( Ernst Vohsen ) publishing house . (Digitized version)
  5. ↑ online
  6. ↑ Compare the information in the catalog of the German National Library

literature

Web links