Georg Kampffmeyer

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Georg Kampffmeyer

Georg Kampffmeyer (born July 8, 1864 in Berlin ; † September 5, 1936 there ) was a German Arabist who taught at the seminar for oriental languages in Berlin from 1906 to 1929 . As the author of scientific treatises and especially as the head of the German Society for Islamic Studies and publisher of the World of Islam , he directed the development of scientific Arabic studies in Germany.

Life

Georg Kampffmeyer, the son of factory owner Daniel Kampffmeyer (1815–1878), came from an originally Westphalian family of farmers and manufacturers who had been in the leather and tannery business for several generations. After the early death of his parents, Georg grew up with his second-degree relatives.

After graduation (1883) he studied philosophy , theology , Semitic and Romance languages at the universities of Bern , Lausanne , Florence and Berlin . In Berlin he became a member of the Saravia fraternity in 1884 . From 1890 he then worked at the church ministerial library in Celle , which was then reorganized. In addition to the library service, he dealt with his academic qualifications. In 1892 he was at the University of Leipzig in Albert Socin with a thesis on Syrian and Palestinian place names Dr. phil. PhD . At this time he also joined the German Palestine Association .

From 1895 Kampffmeyer worked in Berlin, where he was given the opportunity to learn Arabic. He used the books and teaching aids available to him and attended events with the Arabist Martin Hartmann . After moving to Marburg , he completed his habilitation at the local university in 1900 . A year later he moved to the library of the Leopoldina in Halle , which appointed him to the advisory board for Semitic languages. In the same year he repeated his habilitation at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and taught Semitic languages ​​as a private lecturer for five years. He traveled to Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Palestine and developed into an expert on the Arabic dialects there. From 1902 he was a member of the board of the German Oriental Society . In 1906 the Leopoldina appointed him a member.

In 1906 Kampffmeyer returned to Berlin, where he received a teaching position at the seminar for oriental languages . He mainly taught the Arabic dialect of Morocco, which was very topical due to the Moroccan crisis in the German Empire. In November 1907 Kampffmeyer was appointed professor. In addition to the Moroccan dialect, his teaching position also included Syrian and Egyptian.

Kampffmeyer's grave in the St.-Annen-Kirchhof in Berlin-Dahlem

In Berlin, Kampffmeyer became a close associate of his academic teacher Martin Hartmann. Together with him, he founded the German Society for Islamic Studies in 1912 and published its magazine Die Welt des Islams . In the following years he devoted a large part of his working time to these companies. In 1916 Kampffmeyer founded the Association of Friends of Turkish Literature. He bequeathed the extensive library of this society (around 1930) at the request of the Prussian Ministry of Culture to the newly founded department of the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul .

The Society for Islamkunde became an institution of the Reich government during the First World War . Wolfgang G. Schwanitz on this:

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 (the Germans) against other unbelievers. On Envers's behalf, the Sheikh Salih al-Sharif at-Tunisi commented on the novelty : The scholar… explained the 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.

In the economically difficult 1920s, Kampffmeyer succeeded in receiving the Seminar for Oriental Languages ​​and the Society for Islamic Studies. He tirelessly continued his research and teaching activities. In 1929 he retired when he reached retirement age . From 1934 his illness prevented him from doing scientific work. He died on September 5, 1936 at the age of 72.

Services

Georg Kampffmeyer was one of the most important Arabists of his generation. His research on the Arabic dialects of Palestine, Egypt and Morocco was received worldwide and created the basis for modern dialect research. Kampffmeyer always viewed Arabic in connection with political and cultural developments. In this context he recognized the pressing problem of a contemporary history of the Middle East and tackled it in his research work. In 1936 he published an essay “As his scientific testament” (Jäschke) on the basis for the structure of a comprehensive report on the contemporary situation in the Orient , “in which he analyzed the most important relevant studies and journals in Italy, England, France and Germany. "

literature

Web links

Commons : Georg Kampffmeyer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Georg Kampffmeyer  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst Elsheimer (ed.): Directory of the old fraternity members according to the status of the winter semester 1927/28. Frankfurt am Main 1928, p. 239.
  2. ↑ online
personal data
SURNAME Kampffmeyer, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kampffmeyer, Johann Georg Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Arabist
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1936
Place of death Berlin