Professor Dr. Sebastian Günther

Arabic [PDF]

Sebastian Günther is Professor and Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. He has previously held appointments at the University of Toronto (promoted in 2003 to Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, with tenure) and Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. In addition, he has accepted repeated invitations for research fellowships and visiting professorships at various universities and other institutions in the Middle East, including Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the American University of Beirut, the International Islamic University in Islamabad, and the New York University in Abu Dhabi.
In April 2025, he was elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He currently serves as Germany’s National Representative in the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants, having previously held the position of President of this international academic association. In addition, he is a Member of the Initiative Group for the World Forum Human Education in the Third Millennium, and serves as Co-Editor and Board Member of several academic journals and book series, including Brill’s Islamic History and Civilization series.



Main fields of research:

• Intellectual and cultural history of Islam
• Islamic ethics & education, knowledge transfer, the history of the Arabic-Islamic sciences
• Religious and philosophical traditions in Islam, including the Quran and Quranic exegesis
• Islam in the context of the Abrahamitic religions
• Arabic literature, classical and contemporary