Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Richard C. Martin (Editor), Said Amir Arjomand (Editor), Marcia Hermansen (Editor), Abdulkader Tayob (Editor), Rochelle Davis (Editor), John Obert Voll (Editor)

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The reference literature for Islam has long consisted of either a densely academic, multivolume encyclopedia or several, often specialized, single-volume works with brief definitions. Happily, there is now a reference work falling between these two extremes. The Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World is a scholarly work "about Islamic cultures, religion, history, politics, and the like as well as the people who have identified with Islam over the past fourteen centuries."

A team of international scholars is responsible for the 515 entries, which are arranged alphabetically and range from 200 to 5,000 words in length. Many include some sort of illustration and end with helpful see also references and excellent supplemental bibliographies. A useful index completes the set. Coverage includes the religious dimensions of Islam as well as the development of the tradition in various parts of the world (e.g., Africa, South Asia, U.S.). Cultural issues of importance to the history of Islam (e.g., architecture, calligraphy, language) are also treated. Entries such as Political organization and Political thought demonstrate the historical completeness for which the encyclopedia strives, tracing developments from the life of the Prophet to the present day. Even topics of contemporary interest include a historical perspective. The entry for Jihad describes the many meanings of the term, including its contemporary association with violence, and how the concept has developed historically. The treatment of secularization in the Muslim world includes a comparison to historical events in the West, thereby helping the reader to understand that it cannot be understood solely from a Western perspective. Finally, the biographical entries include important figures from the religious, cultural, and political history of the Muslim world.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (1995) is close in spirit and size (four volumes) to this new work, but its coverage includes far less of historical figures and events. The Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, on the other hand, "seeks to contextualize contemporary Islam within the longer history of Islam." As such, it can easily serve as a standard reference source with its scholarly, yet accessible, content. Highly recommend for academic and large public libraries. RBB
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1000 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Reference USA (December 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028656032
• ISBN-13: 978-0028656038
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,615,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Major Reference Tool, October 5, 2011

By 

Diotima "Aspiring Feelinker/Theeler" (Heloderma AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World (Hardcover)

Obviously reviewing an encyclopedia is not like reviewing a history book. These over-size pages contain over 500 articles,a few short essays,but mostly long essays by hundreds of scholars;also a glossary of Arabic terms,over 140 color & other illustrations, 15 maps, genealogies,and time lines for the several regions central to Islam.

There is also a "Synoptic Outline of Entries" including articles listed under biography, culture[5 headings], geography, history[4], politics, religion[7],etc. The index is quite helpful since the actual articles are in easy to notice bold number-type. Some articles are much longer than a long essay,e.g.: The Abbasid Empire[4 pages], Allah[3], al-Andulus[Islamic Spain], Muhammad[8], Holy Cities[6], Caliphate[8], Ottoman Empire[4], Baghdad[3], India's Mogul or Mughal Empire[3]& its great ruler Akbar[2].

There are some tricky features:"Philosophy" is a six page article which the index "redirects" you to under its Arabic name "Falsafa". The short article on theology is under "Kalam",but see also the long article on "Law"[obviously not an Arabic word]. Related to these topics is a seven page article "Tasawwuf"[variously used for "mysticism" and "Sufism"].

The perhaps greatest Muslim thinker,champion of the Qur'an[Koran],al-Ghazali,1059-1111 A.D.[under "G",a rare exception to the index-rule of listing the "al-s" under "A"]---gets a one page essay,1500 words.[Note that his & others Arabic calendar years life spans are not given.] Ghazali is also important,as he should be,in the "Falsafa" article. Also Ghazali is in the "Tasawwuf" article. Too bad Europe had no Ghazali-type Bible champion vs Aristotle;Europeans,lacking a Forward to one of Ghazali's books,even thought Ghazali to be a champion of Aristotle!

I am disappointed to find no discussion of the "Meccan" universal suras in the Qur'an[Koran] vs the "Medina" ethnocentered suras. [The earlier,Mecca suras are short and are,therefore,in the back of the Qur'an.]

No book can be "complete",thus the Sufi Rumi has a thousand words but the "other" al-Ghazali brother,a major Sufi,is not even mentioned. You CAN find a "Taliban" article as well as one on Qutb who lived in the US and went back to Egypt to essentially found militant jihadism. Also a thousand words on the historian Ibn Khaldun.

In short this is a rather large guide to most of the important aspects of the greater[larger] cultures and religious beliefs and habits held by nearly one and a half billion people today[4X the U.S. population] in traditions extending back, up to 1400 years. Islam is the majority faith from Indonesia to Morocco and Kazakstan to coastal Tanzania.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Islam Muslim Encyclopedia 2004, October 11, 2009

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World (Hardcover)

Initially I had my doubts as to how objective this encyclopedia might be: would it be merely an `apologetic' tome by Islamic writers, or might it provide some `objective' analysis through the toleration of some `Orrientalist' questioning? Sometimes I was a little puzzled by its layout. To find something about the Kaaba, this topic is not listed anywhere in the "K" chapter, but instead under `Pilgrimage' - as is the `Hajj.' Pertaining to the Qibla, it notes: `The Meccan sanctuary became the qibla again in 624 c.e. when an important change in Muhammad's attitude towards the Jews occurred' - what `change' might that be goes unanswered (for that answer, you need to see Robert Spencer's `The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Koran'). Nonetheless, the sections pertaining to the Quran and Polygamy are fairly objective with some introspect provided (although nothing is stated as to how/when/who finally compiled the Quran). About half of the articles are written by Arab/Muslim-sounding names (from many different domestic and foreign universities), and other writers surprisingly provided references to: Richard Bell, Kenneth Cragg, Patricia Crone, Arthur Jeffrey, Bernard Lewis, J. Wansbrough, W. Montgomery Watt, and other western-oriented `Orrientalists' who have questioned Islamic mythology. Very informative, very well written, scholarly - not just `lite' fluffy analysis. The topics of "Israel" and "Palestine" are avoided; there are more references to the 'PLO' than to 'Israel'. "Jihad" is discussed in both of its `religious struggle in understanding Allah' and well as its `warfare offensive' perspectives (although not as open as JIHAD WATCH might prefer). I am very happy to have this 2 vols, 823-page set in my library.