Professor Dr. Jamil Iskandar
Professor Dr. Jamil Iskandar, known in the monastic community as Father Hanna Iskandar, is a Professor of History and Ancient Languages at the Lebanese University and a member of the Research Council of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He holds a licentiate in Theology and a PhD in History. His master’s thesis, completed in 1993 at the Holy Spirit University, focused on Deir Al-Makhlis in Hneen, examining its history and cataloging its documents and manuscripts. His doctoral dissertation, completed in 2015 at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, was titled Makarios-Simeon Al-Manhoul: Analysis of the Two Arabic Translations and Textual Study.
Dr. Iskandar has authored numerous works, including Saint Charbel as Witnessed by His Contemporaries, Saint Charbel from His Contemporaries to Our Era, Saint Nimatallah Kassab Al-Hardini as Witnessed by His Contemporaries, The Story of St. Paul, St. Maron, The Blessed Brother Stephen, The Man of God Father Al-Habis Elisha Al-Hardini, The Man of God Father Daniel Al-Hadathy, The Internet and Historical Research, and Developing Historical Curricula and Research.
He has meticulously edited and archived thousands of documents and manuscripts from various monasteries, including Deir Sayyidet Mashmousheh, Deir Mar Shleita, Deir Mar Antonius-Qazahia, Deir Mar Georges-Jenin, Deir Mar Ya’qoub Al-Hosn, Deir Sayyidet Al-Ma’ounat, Deir Sayyidet Mayfouq, Deir Mar Boutros and Paul, Deir Mar Cyprianus and Justina, and Deir Mar Maroun, in addition to comprehensive files on Saint Charbel, Makarios-Simeon Al-Manhoul, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, ready for publication.
Dr. Iskandar has also conducted Islamic studies, covering topics such as the Prophet and monasticism, baptism through Quranic texts, the Holy Eucharist and priesthood, the death and resurrection of Christ, the houris of paradise, jihad in Islam and Christianity, translation of the Bible into Arabic, Moses and the rod and serpent between the Book of Exodus and Christian and Islamic texts, the book in Arabic from the pre-Islamic era, the Gospel of the Monastery, and Mary in the Quran.
In addition, he has contributed studies in the Arabic language, including Quranic readings, the Karshuni origins of Arabic letters, comparative studies of Arabic script in Christian manuscripts and the Quran, and the Arabic alphabet and its impact on reading and grammar.