William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006[1]) was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Edinburgh. Watt was one of the foremost non-Muslim interpreters of Islam in the West, and according to Carole Hillenbrand "an enormously influential scholar in the field of Islamic studies and a much-revered name for many Muslims all over the world". Watt's comprehensive biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Muhammad at Mecca (1953) and Muhammad at Medina (1956), are considered to be classics in the field.[2]
Biography
Watt, whose father died when he was only 14 months old, was born in Ceres, Fife, Scotland.[1]
Watt was a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and was Arabic specialist to the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem from 1943–46.[1] He became a member of the ecumenical Iona Community in Scotland in 1960. He was Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh from 1964–79.
He has been called "the Last Orientalist".[3] He died in Edinburgh on 24 October 2006 at the age of 97.[4]
Awards
Watt held visiting professorships at the University of Toronto, the Collège de France, and Georgetown University, and received the American Giorgio Levi Della Vida Medal and won, as its first recipient, the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies award for outstanding scholarship.[2]
Watt received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1977.[5]
Watt's views
His account of the origin of Islam met with criticism from other scholars such as John Wansbrough of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, and Patricia Crone and Michael Cook, in their book Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World (1977), and Crone's Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam.[6]
Works
- The faith and practice of al-Ghazālī (1953) ISBN 978-0-686-18610-6
- Muhammad at Mecca (1953) ISBN 978-0-19-577278-4
- Muhammad at Medina (1956) ISBN 978-0-19-577307-1 (online)
- Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (1961) ISBN 978-0-19-881078-0, a summary of the above two major works (online)
- Islamic Philosophy and Theology (1962) ISBN 978-0-202-36272-4
- Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (???)
- Islamic Political Thought (1968) ISBN 978-0-85224-403-6
- Islamic Surveys: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe (1972) ISBN 978-0-85224-439-5
- The Majesty That Was Islam (1976) ISBN 978-0-275-51870-7
- What Is Islam? (1980) ISBN 978-0-582-78302-7
- Muhammad's Mecca (1988) ISBN 978-0-85224-565-1
- Muslim-Christian Encounters: Perceptions and Misperceptions (1991) ISBN 978-0-415-05411-9
- Early Islam (1991) ISBN 978-0-7486-0170-7
- Islamic Philosophy And Theology (1987) ISBN 978-0-7486-0749-5
- Islamic Creeds (1994) ISBN 978-0-7486-0513-2
- History of Islamic Spain (1996) ISBN 978-0-85224-332-9
- Islamic Political Thought (1998) ISBN 978-0-7486-1098-3
- Islam and the Integration of Society (1998) ISBN 978-0-8101-0240-8
- Islam: A Short History (1999) ISBN 978-1-85168-205-8
- A Christian Faith For Today (2002) ISBN 0-415-27703-5
References
- 1 2 3 William Montgomery Watt by Richard Holloway. The Guardian. 14 November 2006
- 1 2 Professor W. Montgomery Watt by Carole Hillenbrand
- ↑ Interview: William Montgomery Watt
- ↑ The Herald, The Scotsman, The Times, 27 October 2006
- ↑ webperson@hw.ac.uk. "Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates". www1.hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
- ↑ Patricia Crone, Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton University Press. 1987
External links
- Professor W. Montgomery Watt by Carole Hillenbrand
- W. Montgomery Watt: Muhammad, Prophet and Statesman
- "Sirat An-Nabi and the Orientalists" Criticism of some of Watt's works by Muhammad Mohar Ali
- Obituary by Charlotte Alfred. Edinburgh Middle East Report Online, a journal founded in Watt's former department. Winter 2006
- Professor Watt's paper Women in the Earliest Islam
- Interview with Professor Watt on Islam/Christian relations
- William Montgomery Watt's picture
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