KISTER, MEIR J.

KISTER, MEIR J. (1914– ), Israel scholar of Arabic. Born in Mosciska, Poland, Kister received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1964, from which year he was senior lecturer there. He became full professor in 1970. His scholarly endeavors dealt with the traditions of the tribes of the pre-Islamic period in the Arab peninsula, the sira of Muhammad, and the early hadith and its compilations. He was a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 1981 he was awarded the Israel Prize in Arabic literature and Oriental studies.