Sebastian Günther is Professor and Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. He has held prior appointments at the University of Toronto (where he was promoted in 2003 to Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, with tenure) and Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (from which he received his PhD in 1989). In addition, he has accepted continuing invitations for visiting professorships at various universities in the Middle East. S. Günther is the co-editor of the Islamic History and Civilization series (Brill Academic Publishers) and a board member of the Religion Compass (Blackwell Publishing).