A comprehensive encyclopedia dedicated to institutions, religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies throughout the world. Placing particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries, the focus throughout is on the Islamic dimension of the Muslim experience in recent history.

Lavishly illustrated with over 300 pictures, including more than 200 in full color, The Oxford History of Islam offers the most wide-ranging and authoritative account available of the second largest--and fastest growing--religion in the world. John L. Esposito, Editor-in-Chief of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, has gathered together sixteen leading scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to examine the origins and historical development of Islam--its faith, community, institutions, sciences, and arts. Beginning in the pre-Islamic Arab world, the chapters range from the story of Muhammad and his Companions, to the development of Islamic religion and culture and the empires that grew from it, to the influence that Islam has on today's world. The book covers a wide array of subjects, casting light on topics such as the historical encounter of Islam and Christianity, the role of Islam in the Mughal and Ottoman empires, the growth of Islam in Southeast Asia, China, and Africa, the political, economic, and religious challenges of European imperialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and Islamic communities in the modern Western world. In addition, the book offers excellent articles on Islamic religion, art and architecture, and sciences as well as bibliographies. Events in the contemporary world have led to an explosion of interest and scholarly work on Islam. Written for the general reader but also appealing to specialists, The Oxford History of Islam offers the best of that recent scholarship, presented in a readable style and complemented by a rich variety of illustrations.

The main reference source for questions of Islamic philosophy, science, and technology amongst Western engaged readers and academics in general and legal researchers in particular.

The dictionary focuses primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, stressing topics of most interest to Westerners. What emerges is a highly informative look at the religious, political, and social spheres of the modern Islamic world. Naturally, readers will find many entries on topics of intense current interest, such as terrorism and the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, the PLO and HAMAS. But the coverage goes well beyond recent headlines. There are biographical profiles, ranging from Naguib Mahfouz (the Nobel Prize winner from Egypt) to Malcolm X, including political leaders, influential thinkers, poets, scientists, and writers. Other entries cover major political movements, militant groups, and religious sects as well as terms from Islamic law, culture, and religion, key historical events, and important landmarks (such as Mecca and Medina). A series of entries looks at Islam in individual nations, such as Afghanistan, the West Bank and Gaza, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the United States, and the

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women will provide clear, current, comprehensive information on the major topics of scholarly interest within the study of Islam and women.

This unique reference is the first comprehensive encyclopedia dedicated to the institutions, religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies throughout the world. Placing particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World contains over 750 articles in four volumes. The focus throughout is on the Islamic dimension of the Muslim experience in recent history, and background articles ground the information in its historical context and ensure continuity. Entries address political and social action as well as formal texts, and emphasis is placed on the practice and theory of Islam in Muslim societies around the globe. Unlike more limited explorations of Islam, this work looks at Muslim societies in the Arab heartland as well as in South and Southeast Asia, and even in Europe and the Americas. Thus it is an invaluable resource offering extensive comparative and systematic analyses of Islamic beliefs, institutions, movements, practices, and peoples on an international scale. Topical categories covered include history and geography; schools of thought; religious beliefs; theology and philosophy; mysticism; religious practice, devotionalism, and ritual; religious law; politics; economics; culture and society; and biographies. Alphabetically arranged articles range from brief 500-word essays to major interpretive and synthetic treatments of topics such as the Islamic state, pilgrimage, law, marriage, and foreign relations. Related entries cover such topics as social and political movements, women, Muslim minorities, human rights, Islam in the West, and interreligious affairs. Truly multidisciplinary, this work reflects the breadth and depth of contemporary scholarship in Islamic studies, combining the tools of the humanities and social sciences to examine the interrelationship of religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies and to explain the changing realities of Muslim life. Designed for easy use by both scholars and students, the work has an index and an extensive system of cross-references that provide easy access to the network of related articles throughout the encyclopedia. Entries are written by Muslim and non-Muslim scholars from around the world. Unique in its focus on the modern Islamic world, this encyclopedia is an invaluable reference for anyone concerned with Islam: scholars and students of many disciplines, government and media analysts who increasingly require an understanding of the Muslim world, and interested lay readers who are becoming more and more familiar with Islamic politics and culture.