Matti Moosa

Erie, PA -- Matti Moosa, Ph.D., age 90, passed away on December 30, 2014. A U.S. resident since 1960, he was a retired Professor of History and Comparative Religions at Gannon University in Erie. A former native of Mosul, Iraq, and an American citizen since 1965, he held a Law degree from the Baghdad Law School, Iraq, a United Nations Diploma of Merit from the University of Wales in Swansea, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Middle Eastern History and Culture from Columbia University in New York, NY. Dr. Moosa’s career started at the American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. After emigrating to the U.S. with his young family and studying at Columbia University, he began his career as a Professor at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania from 1964 to 1966. He then served as Professor at Gannon University in Erie, PA from 1967 to 1996. However, the bulk of his professional achievements were the outstanding and impressive scholarly works authored and translated by him throughout his career, the last of which was published at the age of 90 in 2014. His publications include The Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction, (1983), 2nd ed. (1997); The Maronites in History (1986), also translated into Arabic; Extremist Shiites: the Ghulat Sects (1988); The Early Novels of Naguib Mahfouz: Images of Modern Egypt (1994); The Crusades: Conflict between Christendom and Islam (2008); and The Syriac Chronicle of Michael Rabo: A Universal History from the Creation (2014). These works are widely regarded by his peers and the scholarly community as unparalleled in their scholarship and significance. A proud and faithful member of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch into which he was born and raised, Matti also had the honor of being ordained a full deacon in the church. He applied his command of the Arabic and Syriac languages in his devotion to preserving the history of the church through translation of many of its historical documents into English, most notably the translation of Michael Rabo as cited above. Son of Ishaq and Dola Moosa of Mosul, Iraq, Dr. Moosa is survived by his loving and supportive wife of 61 years, Inge Jensen Moosa; sisters Adeeba Moosa and Noha Edwin; brother Adil (Araxy) Moosa; two sons and daughter: Hans H. (Doreen) Moosa MD, of Belleville, IL (children Jessica, Chelsea, and Zachary), Mark F. (Marlene) Moosa CPA of Charlotte, NC (children Natalie, Matthew, Michael and Madison) and Petra Moosa (John) Beck of Zelienople, PA (children Seth and Jacob). He is predeceased by siblings Fadila, Najeeba, Mary, Akram and Hazim Moosa. Scholarship and sharing his faith were his passions, which he pursued to the twilight of his life; he loved spending time with family and friends, intelligent discussions on politics, religion, and all matters of life, and enjoyed a peaceful life in the countryside of Edinboro, PA. In honor of Dr. Moosa’s request, church services and private burial will be performed at 10:00am Saturday, January 10th, 2015 at St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral, 260 Elm Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666. A memorial service will also be held on Saturday, January 31st, 11:00am at McLane Church, 12511 Edinboro Road in Edinboro, PA 16412, reception following. The family wishes in lieu of flowers that donations please be forwarded to the Syrian Relief Fund at www.SyrianOrthodoxChurch.org .