Norman Dalrymple Anderson
Sir James Norman Dalrymple Anderson .
Life
Anderson was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.[1] He was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, England, and went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained a B.A. in 1930 and a LL.B. in 1931 with a triple first. He went to Egypt in 1932 where he spent 8 years as a missionary, learning Arabic at the American University in Cairo.[2] In 1939, he served with the British Army and in 1940 he was made Arab Liaison Officer for the
He lectured on Islamic Law for three years at
He died in Cambridge in 1994.[3]
Family
His son Hugh R. D. Anderson was a
Islamic law
Anderson's research on Islamic law broke new ground in Britain through its focus on modern legal codes in the Middle East and Africa. Anderson highlighted the hybrid mixture of Western and Islamic concepts which such codes adopted and which he believed would characterize future legal reforms. Throughout his writings he expressed concerns about the morality and practicality of certain rules and stipulations in the vast corpus of classical Islamic law. Because of his expertise in Islamic law, Anderson became a sought-after witness in legal cases, adviser to the Colonial Office and Foreign Office, and consultant to non-Western governments.
Involvement in evangelicalism
Anderson played a signal role in the transformation of
Writings
Anderson wrote and edited a number of books on Christian theology, comparative law and comparative religion, including:
- The Evidence for the Resurrection, (1950)
- The World's Religions, (1950, 1975)
- Islamic Law in Africa, (1954)
- Islamic Law in the Modern World, (1959)
- Changing Law in Developing Countries, (1963)
- Family Law in Asia and Africa, (1968)
- Into the World: The Need and Limits of Christian Involvement, (1968)
- Christianity: the Witness of History – A Lawyer's Approach, (1969)
- Christianity and Comparative Religion, (1970)
- Morality, Law and Grace, (1972)
- Law Reform in the Muslim World, (1976)
- Liberty, Law and Justice, (1978)
- The Mystery of the Incarnation, (1978)
- God's Law and God's Love: An Essay in Comparative Religion, (1980)
- Christianity and World Religions: The Challenge of Pluralism, (1984)
- An Adopted Son: The Story of My Life, (1985)
- Freedom Under Law, (1988)
- Islam in the Modern World: a Christian Perspective, (1990)
Bibliography
- Thompson, Todd M. (2008). "Anderson, Sir (James) Norman Dalrymple (1908–1994), missionary, jurist, and writer on religion". ISBN 9780198614128. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Thompson, Todd. Norman Anderson and the Christian Mission to Modernize Islam, Hurst Pub. (2017).
See also
- Islamic studies
- Islamic jurisprudence
- Death and Resurrection of Jesus
- Comparative religion
References
- ^ 1911 England Census
- ^ The archive papers of Sir Norman Anderson are held by SOAS Special Collections
- ^ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
- ^ Middle East Christian Outreach was formed in 1976 through the merger of the Arabic Literature Mission, Lebanon Evangelical Mission and Middle East General Mission.[1]