Sebastian Günther is Professor and Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. He previously held faculty appointments at the University of Toronto, where he earned tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003, and at Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. He has served as a visiting scholar or fellow at institutions in Europe, North America, and the Middle East, including Al-Azhar University (Cairo), the American University of Beirut, the International Islamic University (Islamabad), the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, and New York University in Abu Dhabi.
Professor Günther’s research explores the intellectual and cultural history of Islam, focusing on Islamic education and ethics, the transmission of knowledge, and Arabic literary and philosophical traditions. His scholarly leadership has been recognized through numerous honors, including his election in 2025 as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He currently serves as Germany’s National Representative to the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI), where he was previously elected President.
Sebastian Günther’s recent publications include Raise and Educate Me: Studies in the Educational and Ethical Discourse of Islam (Beirut, 2023), an Arabic monograph compiling and expanding upon some of his major studies in the field; the edited two-volume reference work Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam: Religious Learning Between Continuity and Change (Brill, 2020); and Islamic Ethics as Educational Discourse: Thought and Impact of the Classical Muslim Thinker Miskawayh (d. 1030), co-edited with Yassir El-Jamouhi (Mohr Siebeck, 2021). In addition to his editorial roles with several journals and academic series, including Brill’s Islamic History and Civilization, Professor Günther is an active member of the World Forum Human Education in the Third Millennium and an advocate for the humanistic and ethical dimensions of Islamic education across historical and contemporary contexts.
