“Her reactions to most things were the reactions of the local people in the Islamic world,” Gutas said. “They were not the typical Western reactions. She was a great democrat at heart, but saw the actions of Western governments as contrary to that.”

Born in Erfurt, Germany, Schimmel started studying Arabic at age 15, and eventually mastered nearly a dozen languages.

“She was one of the few Middle East scholars who knew the four main languages—Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu—equally well,” Gutas said. “Because of this she was able to research the entire gamut of Islamic cultures.”

Before age 20 she had earned a doctorate in Islamic languages and civilization from the University of Berlin, where she wrote her dissertation on the history of Egypt’s Mameluk caste.

Following a stint as a translator for the German Foreign Office during World War II, she took a second doctorate in the history of religion from the University of Marburg, and continued teaching there until 1954.

Schimmel also taught at the University of Ankara, Turkey and the University of Bonn before arriving at Harvard.

After going back to Germany in 1993, she returned to Bonn, where she was an honorary professor of Islamic studies.

Best known for lecturing with her eyes closed, Schimmel was remembered as an engaging lecturer.

“She would close her eyes, lean back and deliver lectures consisting of well organized, polished sentences,” said Donner.

A memorial service for Schimmel is being planned at Harvard, but the date has not yet been announced, according to The Globe.

—Staff writer Ella A. Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@fas.harvard.edu.