The Orient in Utrecht: Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion

Adriaan Reland (1676-1718), Arabist, Cartographer, Antiquarian and Scholar of Comparative Religion covers the intellectual achievements of a remarkable man: Adriaan Reland, professor of Oriental languages (1701) and Hebrew Antiquities (1713) at the University of Utrecht from 1701 to 1718. Although he never travelled beyond the borders of his home country, he had an astonishingly broad worldview. The contributions in this volume illuminate Reland’s many accomplishments and follow his scholarly trajectory as an Orientalist, a linguist, a cartographer, a poet, and a historian of comparative religions. Reland, although a devout Protestant, believed that religions should be examined objectively on their own terms with the help of reliable and authentic documents, which would dispel the prejudices of the past. Contributors: Lot Brouwer, Ulrich Groetsch, Toon van Hal, Jason Harris, Bart Jaski, Christian Lange, Richard van Leeuwen, Remke Kruk, Anna Pytlowany, Henk J. van Rinsum, Dirk Sacré, Arnoud Vrolijk, Tobias Winnerling and Jan Just Witkam

Bart Jaski (PhD Trinity College Dublin, 1995) is keeper of manuscripts of the University Library of Utrecht. He has published widely on medieval Irish and manuscript studies, and is the editor of various publications. Christian Lange (PhD Harvard, 2006) is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Utrecht University. He is the author of monographs on medieval Islamic conceptions of justice and punishment (2008), paradise and hell in Islam (2016), and the reception history of the prophet Mohammed (2017). Anna Pytlowany is an independent scholar and media professional. She holds a PhD in History of Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam (2018). Her main research interests are material aspects of manuscripts and Dutch mercantile linguistics. Henk van Rinsum (PhD Utrecht, 2001) is a Utrecht-trained historian and anthropologist. He published about universities and religion in Africa. In February 2018, he organised a symposium in Utrecht on the work and life of Adrianus Reland with Islam scholars, Arabists, linguists and historians.