Adel Theodor Khoury (26 March 1930 – 14 July 2023) was a Lebanese Catholic theologian and historian of Christianity and Islam.

Biography

Adel Theodor Khoury was born in

Tebnine Tibnin ( ''Tibnīn'', also Romanized ''Tibnîn'', ''Tebnine'' etc.) is a municipality spread across several hills (ranging in altitude from 700m to 800m (2,275 ft to 2,600 ft) above sea level) located about east of Tyre, in the heart ...

, Lebanon on 26 March 1930. After theological studies Khoury entered priesthood in 1953. He also pursued philosophy and Oriental studies in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

before receiving a doctoral degree in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. From 1970 until his retirement in 1993 Khoury was professor of general religious studies (''Allgemeine Religionswissenschaft'') in the Catholic-Theological Department of Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he twice served as head of the department.Biography in honor of Khoury's 85th birthday on the site of Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität
/ref> Khoury is notable for his publications on

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and his efforts toward interfaith understanding. In 1985 he was named advisor of the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by ...

. In 1997 he was awarded the Austrian distinction "

Grand Decoration of Honour The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the Austrian national honours system. History The Decoration of Hono ...

" for his efforts to promote Christian-Muslim dialogue. His 12-volume commentary of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

(1990–2001) also won recognition in the Muslim world. His thematic concordance and German translation of the Quran was selected in Iran as "book of the year" in 2009. Khoury was also known for his comprehensive surveys of Byzantine anti-Islamic polemics. His edition of dialogues of the Byzantine emperor

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the name Matthaios (). Manuel was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which ...

with an "educated Persian" gained wider attention when it was cited in a 2006 speech of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

which sparked worldwide controversy. A

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in honor of Khoury's 60th birthday was published in 1990. In 2004, Khoury is said to have witnessed a miracle in Soufanieh, where Myrna Nazzour had stigmata

Khoury died in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Germany on 14 July 2023, at the age of 93.

Works

* ''Manuel Paléologue. Entretiens avec un Musulman, Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par Theodore Khoury'', Editions du cerf, Paris 1966 * ''Les théologiens Byzantins et l’islam: Texts et auteurs (VIIIe-XIIIe siècles).'' Louvain, Belgium, and Paris:Nauwelaerts, 1969. * ''Polémique Byzantine contre l’islam; VIIIe-XIIIe siècles.'' Leiden: Brill, 1972. * ''Einführung in die Grundlagen des Islams.'' Graz, Wien, Köln: Styria 1978 * ''Apologétique Byzantine contre l’islam; VIIIe-XIIIe siècles.'' Altenberge, Germany: Verlag für christlich-islamisches Schriftum, 1982. * ''Der Islam: sein Glaube, seine Lebensordnung, sein Anspruch.'' Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Wien: Herder 1988 u.ö. * (Ed.): ''Lexikon des Islam: Geschichte, Ideen, Gestalten.'' 3 Bde., 1. Aufl. 1991 ; überarbeitete Neuaufl. 1999 ; CD-ROM 2004 * (Hg.): ''Das Ethos der Weltreligionen.'' Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Wien: Herder 1993 * ''Christen unterm Halbmond: religiöse Minderheiten unter der Herrschaft des Islam.'' Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Wien: Herder 1994 * (Ed.): ''Kleine Bibliothek der Religionen.'' 10 Bde., Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Wien: Herder 1995-2001 * zus. m. Peter Heine und Janbernd Oebbecke: ''Handbuch Recht und Kultur des Islams in der deutschen Gesellschaft: Probleme im Alltag - Hintergründe - Antworten.'' Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verl.-Haus 2000 * ''Der Islam und die westliche Welt: religiöse und politische Grundfragen.'' Darmstadt: WBG; Primus 2001 * ''Mit Muslimen in Frieden leben: Friedenspotentiale des Islam.'' Würzburg: Echter 2002 * (Ed.): ''Krieg und Gewalt in den Weltreligionen: Fakten und Hintergründe.'' Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Wien: Herder 2003 * (Übersetzung und Kommentar): ''Der Koran: arabisch-deutsch.'' Gütersloh: Kaiser, Gütersloher Verl.-Haus 2004 * ''Der Koran: erschlossen und kommentiert von Adel Theodor Khoury.'' Düsseldorf: Patmos 2005
Rezension
bei

H-Soz-u-Kult H-Soz-u-Kult (''Humanities – Sozial und Kulturgeschichte'') is an online information and communication platform for historians which disseminates academic news and publications. The project is committed to the principles of open access and commun ...

) * (Ed.): ''Die Weltreligionen und die Ethik.'' Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Wien: Herder 2005 * ''Sufanieh: eine Botschaft für die Christen in der Welt.'' Altenberge: Oros 2005

Literature

* Ludwig Hagemann; Ernst Pulsfort (ED.): ''"Ihr alle aber seid Brüder": Festschrift für A. Th. Khoury zum 60. Geburtstag.'' Würzburg: Echter; Altenberge: Telos 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoury, Theodore 1930 births 2023 deaths 20th-century German Catholic theologians Lebanese emigrants to Germany Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Academic staff of the University of Münster German male non-fiction writers People from Bint Jbeil District