Editors’ introduction
It is with great pleasure
that the editors of the Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies dedicate
articles from volume 8 to Michael G. Carter on the occasion of his 70th
birthday on 7 January 2009. While this does not pretend to be a Festschrift[1] - nor was it
conceived as such -
the editors, together with Gunvor Mejdell of the University of Oslo, mentioned to friends
and colleagues the possibility of submitting research articles in
honour
of Mike. Many willingly did so and we are appreciative to all those who have
made contributions.
One
major reason for this dedication is to pay tribute to Mike’s long-standing role
on the editorial board and as editor of the Newsletter of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et
Islamisants, an association the academic
values of which this journal has sought to promote since it was started in 1995
by Joseph Bell and Petr Zemánek. Both authors and editors of the journal have
benefitted from the scholarly insights and wise counsel provided by Mike, whose
point of departure for exploring the whole breadth and wealth of Arabic and
Islamic culture has been Arabic grammatical
theory with all its logical and theological complexities. Indeed,
many contributors have put to good use Mike’s constructive and anonymous advice which they received on submission of
the first draft of an article.
The
updated bibliography in this volume testifies to his unbroken productivity, but should be considered as only a
scholarly Zwischenbilanz.
We look forward to many further publications
by the scholar honoured here. In these endeavours, as well as in all other aspects of his life,
we wish him the very best.
Alex Metcalfe
Joseph Norment Bell
Lutz Edzard
[1] Independent of any round anniversary, a volume
comprising articles on grammatical theory was dedicated to Michael G. Carter in
2006: Grammar as a Window onto Arabic Humanism. A Collection of
Articles in Honour of Michael G. Carter, edited by Lutz Edzard and
Janet Watson. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.