Oskar Rescher (October 1, 1883 – March 26, 1972), also known as Osman Reşer, was a prolific German-Turkish scholar in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, and

Turkish literature Turkish literature () comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language. The Ottoman form of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, was highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature,Bertold Sp ...

who specialized in pre-

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 ...

ic Arabic poetry and Ottoman studies. In 1903, Rescher began to study law in Munich, but soon changed to Oriental languages. After receiving his doctorate at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1909 with a dissertation on the grammarian

Ibn Jinni Abū l-Fatḥ ʿUthmān ibn Jinnī, widely known as Ibn Jinni (; 932–1002), was an Arabic linguist, grammarian, and phonologist of Greek descent, renowned for his innovative contributions to Arabic grammar, morphology, and phonology. His work ...

, he moved to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to work in the libraries there. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

as censor for Arabic

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

correspondence. After the war, he moved to Breslau and received his ''

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

'' and ''venia legendi'' (the right to hold lectures at a German university) from the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. In 1925 he began teaching as professor (without full chair) at Breslau, but in 1928 he took a long-term leave and returned to Turkey. He left Breslau "for reasons that can no longer be determined but he evidently did so with resentment". Rescher also relinquished his membership in the

Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft The (, ''German Oriental Society''), abbreviated DMG, is a scholarly organization dedicated to Oriental studies, that is, to the study of the languages and cultures of the Near East and the Far East, the broader Orient, Asia, Oceania, and Afric ...

(DMG), the society of Oriental scholars in Germany. In due course he acculturated to the Turkish locale, changing the spelling of his name, and converting to Islam. For many years he was a staff member of the Islamic Institute of the

University of Istanbul Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, it was reformed as the fi ...

. There he spent the rest of his life, producing numerous scholarly studies and translating many texts into German, as well as writing Oriental-style poetry in German himself. Apart from keeping in close contact with his Turkish colleagues and with

Hellmut Ritter Hellmut Ritter (27 February 1892 – 19 May 1971) was a leading German Orientalist specializing in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, and an authority on Sufi ritual and mystical beliefs. Biography The son of a Protestant minister, his brothers were ...

, who was between 1926 and 1949 a semi-official representative of the DMG in Istanbul, Rescher lived a solitary life in his Istanbul house overlooking the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

, accompanied by many cats. In 1933, the German Nazi government revoked Rescher's ''venia legendi'', and in 1937, he became a Turkish citizen. Most of his work appeared in small editions in Turkey, but gradually made its way into the mainstream of European Oriental scholarship. He devoted much effort over many years to build up a large collection of Arabic and Persian manuscripts. These now form the Rescher Manuscript Collection of the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, as well as a collection at the

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts and ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. His extensive library of printed books in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, as well as the secondary literature in European languages, has been bought by the Ruhr Universität in Bochum (Germany) and forms the nucleus of the library of its ''Seminar für Orientalistik und Islamwissenschaften''. Oskar Rescher is related to

Nicholas Rescher Nicholas Rescher (; ; 15 July 1928 – 5 January 2024) was a German-born American philosopher, polymath, and author, who was a professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh from 1961. He was chairman of the Center for Philosophy of Sc ...

, a well-known German-American philosopher who is also a scholar of Arabic, and who has made various contributions to the study of Arabic

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

s. Oskar Rescher's publications include some valuable indices for works of classical Arabic literature like

al-Bukhari Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm al-Juʿfī al-Bukhārī (; 21 July 810 – 1 September 870) was a 9th-century Persian Muslim ''muhaddith'' who is widely regarded as the most important ''hadith'' scholar in the history ...

's hadith-collection and

Yaqut Yakut of Yaqut (), sometimes transliterated Yāḳūt or Yācūt, is the Arabic word for ruby. As a personal name, it may refer to: Given name * Yakut Khan (before 1672-1733), Indian general who invaded Bombay in 1689 * Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179-122 ...

's ''Mu'jam al-buldan''. He produced an ''Abriss der arabischen Literaturgeschichte'', 2 vols. (Konstantinopel-Pera: Abajoli, 1925 and 1933, Reprint Osnabrück: Biblio-Verlag, 1983), as well as an extensive series of ''Beiträge zur arabischen Poesie'', 8 vols. (Stuttgart and Istanbul, 1935–1963). Some of his publications are reprinted in: ''Gesammelte Werke: eine Sammlung der wichtigsten Schriften Oskar Reschers teilweise mit Ergänzungen und Verbesserungen aus dem schriftlichen Nachlass'', 5 fasc. (Osnabrück: Biblio-Verlag, 1978–95).

References

* *Rosemarie Quiring-Zoche, ''Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland. Band 17. Arabische Handschriften. Reihe B. Teile 3, 5 + 6. Die Handschriften der Sammlung Oskar Rescher in der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin'', 3 vols (Wiesbaden: Verlag Franz Steiner, 1994–2006) * *

External links

Link to books by an about Oskar Rescher at the Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin
*
Link to books by Oskar Rescher at Yale University Library, New Haven

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rescher, Oskar 1883 births Converts to Islam Academic staff of the University of Breslau German orientalists Turkish scientists German expatriates in Turkey Expatriate academics in Turkey Academic staff of Istanbul University Turkologists 1972 deaths German male non-fiction writers German emigrants to Turkey German Muslims