Rudolph Peters studied Law, Arabic and Turkish in Amsterdam and Leiden and was appointed as lecturer at the department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Amsterdam in 1968. He completed his PhD in 1979, titled "Islam and Colonialism: The Doctrine of Jihad in Modern History". He served as the director of the Netherlands Institute for Archeology and Arabic Studies in Cairo from 1982 to 1987, and was appointed professor (‘bijzonder hoogleraar’) to the UvA in 1992.

Ruud was an expert of Islamic law (the fiqh) and of the legal history of Egypt, but his research interests were broader, ranging from the reintroduction of Islamic law in Nigeria to the Dutch nationals returning from IS territory. Among his most famous publications are Jihad. A History in Documents (Markus Wiener, 1996) and Crime and Punishment in Islamic law (Cambridge University Press, 2005). In 2020, a selection of his articles was published in the book Sharia, Justice and Legal Order (Brill).

Ruud was famous for his academic rigour both in Western Europe, the US and the Middle East. We will miss his intellect, knowledge and friendship.

On behalf of the Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies
Farid Boussaid and Maaike Voorhoeve, directors