author
Duncan Black MacDonald
1863–1943
A pioneering scholar of Islam in the United States, he helped bring Arabic and Islamic studies into American theological education. His writing combined close scholarship with a lively interest in Muslim belief, law, and everyday religious life.
1 Audiobook
Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence, and Constitutional Theory
by Duncan Black MacDonald
About the author
Born in Glasgow in 1863, he studied at the University of Glasgow and continued his work in Semitic languages in Berlin before moving into an academic career in the United States. He became a longtime professor at Hartford Theological Seminary, where he was closely associated with early efforts to build serious American study of Islam and Arabic.
His books include The Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Constitutional Theory and Aspects of Islam. He was especially interested in Muslim theology and religious life, and his work also ranged into subjects such as popular belief and stories from The Arabian Nights.
MacDonald died in 1943. Later generations remembered him as an important early figure in Islamic studies in America, and Hartford Seminary named its Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations in his honor.