This tribute to the memory of Gaston Wiet, who died in 1971, consists of 28 articles which, with four exceptions, treat aspects of Islamic civilization: its historical developments, its expression in art, architecture, and literature; its manifestations as a religion in theory and practice. Three of the four exceptions deal with Sasanian studies, the fourth is devoted to the Crusades.

The twenty-four articles concerning Islamic civilization were intended to be, and are, as diverse and wide in scope as Wiet's own interests and publications. In terms of time they stretch from the Sasanian period until the present day.

חקרי מזרח לזכר ד"צ בנעט

Prof. David Hartwig (Zvi) Baneth (1893-1973) was a prominent scholar in Jewish Studies and Medieval Islamic Philosophy. Prof. Baneth taught at the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (since 1936) and laid the groundwork for the study of Judeo-Arabic, which was continued by his student, Prof. Joshua Blau. Prof. Baneth studied the religious thought of Jewish and Muslim scholars like Yehuda ha-Levi, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Bahya ibn Paquda, and Maimonides.

Hebrew and Arabic Studies In honor of Joshua Blau (in Hebrew)

Prof. Joshua Blau (b. 1919) is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the third President of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, winner of the Rothschild Prize (1992) and the Israel Prize (1985). Prof. Blau studied the Middle Arabic dialects (mainly Judeo-Arabic) and various problems in Semitic Linguistics (mainly the development of Biblical Hebrew).