Customer Reviews

The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those fascinated with religion in general and Islam in particular, Cyril Glasse's book is a treasure. I purchased my copy in 1991. I would pour over the work for hours, letting one entry guide me to others, often forgetting what I had originally sought to investigate. It is, indeed, a popular, one-volume dictionary written in an accessible prose style. The entries are brief and to the point, providing enough information to answer an immediate question about the religion, but also enough to encite further investigation of the topic in a larger work. The print is easy to read. All topics related to Islam are covered, including not only Sunni and Shiite Islam, but also the various sects that have evolved from Islam, such as the Bahais and the Druze. Theology, mysticism, folk belief, law, history, art as each pertains to Islam are fully covered. In many entries, Glasse compares Islamic belief and worship with those of Judaism and Christianity. Glasse's work covers all geographic areas of Islam, too, not just the Arabian heartland. The Encyclopedia lists entries according to Arabic tranliteration, but also lists reference entries in anglisized spellings. Some beautiful photographs illustrate the work and the appendix contains a graphic timeline of the development of Islam. I can not say enough about the value of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam; I've learned more from it than from most narrative accounts of Islam. When, a year or so ago, I lost my copy during a move, I was deeply saddened to find that HarperCollins has chosen not to reprint the title. I understand the title is not technically out of print, but it is nonetheless unavailable. This review, then, is a plea for HarperCollins to reissue the Encyclopedia in the near future. The energy and committment that Glasse must have given to his research and its worthy results should not remain unavailable.

I was not aware that the book was out of print. It is a very unfortunate situation for those seeking a general reference on Islam. None of the 27 English-language texts we have on the subject even approach the breadth and presentation of this encyclopedia. I should hope that it will either be reprinted or released in a new edition. I do not easily give 10s in my reviews but this book certainly deserves it.

Since I've owned the 3rd edition of the New Encyclopedia of Islam I've found it a fascinating and indispensable companion to reading Middle Eastern history as well as that of adjoining regions such as the Balkans and Central Asia. The Encyclopedia and the accompanying long chronology of significant events, reaching to the present year, are especially useful for building perspective and understanding of current developments in these areas and, increasingly, elsewhere. I actually appreciated as well having it as a reference while reading Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence. The Encyclopedia is at heart a remarkable compendium of information and lore--comprehensive, synthetic, and articulate--on a variety of issues and historical points for which Islam has had any relevance whatever. The bibliography is quite interesting and varied, with deep sources. In the reading, the transliteration style of words from Arabic is detailed and consistent. In all, the author's command of facts and developments and linguistic contexts, and his obvious enthusiasm for the topics, recommend this volume highly.

This is a large-but not too large-dictionary of Islamic terms, people, events, cities, rituals, anything Islamic. Of course, any book could be expanded to multiple volume, but I wanted something reasonably comprehensive at a reasonable price. This book does that. I actually started reading it from the
beginning. The author has a tendency-one I like-of rambling on and introducing other people or events into the discussion of whatever you are reading about. They threw in some color plates of some mosques, prayer rituals, and some other stuff, but otherwise it is devoid of drawings of any kind.
Scholars will want to spend $700-2500 on multiple volume encyclopedias, but for the rest of us, this is fine.