Sabine Schmidtke

Sabine Schmidtke is a Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, specializing in Islamic intellectual history. Her work focuses on manuscript studies, Zaydi intellectual tradition, and the interplay between Islamic, Jewish, and Christian thought. She has held academic positions at institutions such as Freie Universität Berlin and has led initiatives like the Zaydi Manuscript Tradition digital portal.

Education:

• Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn – Habilitation (1999)
• University of Oxford – D.Phil. (1990)
• School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London – M.A. (1987)
• The Hebrew University, Jerusalem – B.A. (1986)

Research Interests: Schmidtke’s research bridges medieval Islamic intellectual traditions, manuscript preservation, and interfaith dialogue. She has pioneered studies on Zaydi theology, Mu’tazilite thought, and the reception of the Bible in Islamic contexts.

Awards & Honors:

• Doctor honoris causa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2025)
• Corresponding Fellow, British Academy (2023)
• Humboldt Research Award (2019)

Grants & Fellowships:

• Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Fellow (2018)
• Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study Fellow (2012)
• Member, American Philosophical Society (2017)

Labs/Teams: Director of the Zaydi Manuscript Tradition (ZMT) digital portal, a collaborative project with HMML to preserve Yemeni manuscripts.