James Kritzeck

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James Kritzeck (born 1930) is a scholar of Islam who specialises in Islamic literature and its translation. He has been Professor of Oriental Studies at Princeton University, and member of the Center of Theological Inquiry atPrinceton, NJ He is the author of 'Anthology of Islamic Literature' and othr notable books.

He was educated at St John's Abbey and Princeton University (New Jersey) and was elected to the Society of Fellows at Harvard University in 1952. As well as travelling through much of the Islamic world in order to increase his knowledge of Islamic works, Kritzeck studied Islam through reading and teaching, among other scholarly luminaries as Henry Corbin, Louis Massignon and Herbert Mason. Translating and evaluating scriptures, Kritzeck became frustrated with the attitudes and ignorance of the Western world towards what he considered such intricate and sometimes beautiful literature.

The book 'Anthology of Islamic Literature' is a collection of Islamic writings, chronologically compiled from the Qur'an up until the 18th century. Ironically a sceptic of translation, Kritzeck strove to include only the finest and most accurate interpretations of poetry, prose and of course Qur'an verse.

A special collection in his honor has been established at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. [1]

[edit] Major Publications

• Anthology of Islamic Literature: From the Rise of Islam to Modern Times by James Kritzeck, ISBN 0452008794
• Islam in Africa by James Kritzeck and William Hubert Lewis ISBN 0442045026
• Modern Islamic Literature:from 1800 to the Present by James Kritzeck , Holt, Rinehart and Winston, ISBN
• Sons of Abraham: Jews, Christians and Moslems, by James Kritzeck. Baltimore: Helicon, 1965 ISBN 0030536855
• Peter the Venerable and Islam. James Kritzeck, Princeton University Press, 1964
• The world of Islam; studies in honour of Philip K. Hitti. ed. by Philip Khuri Hitti and James Kritzeck and R. Bayly Winder, Ayer Co Pub, ISBN 0836992652