Islamic Studies   Tags: arabic_studies, indonesia, islam, islamic, middle_east, muslim  

"Designed for readers with little or no knowledge of Islam, the Oxford Dictionary of Islam provides vividly-written, up-to-date, and authoritative entries. The Dictionary focuses primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, providing a highly informative look at the religious, political, and social spheres of the modern Islamic world."

"Looks at Islam's role in the modern world...in the context of the religion's history and development over the last 13 centuries...thematic articles, biographies of key figures, definitions, illustrations, maps..." Good place to start!

"Reflects the variety of trends, voices, and opinions in the contemporary Muslim intellectual scene...[and]...challenges Western misconceptions about the modern Muslim world."

The authoritative reference source for Islam. Tricky to use, however. If you have trouble finding an concept or topic, find the Arabic name in one of the other reference sources and then look for it in the eTable of Contents.

"Encyclopedic dictionary of qur'anic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qur'anic studies."

"There has been a long tradition of interest in philosophy in the Islamic world, and it is the aim of this comprehrensive reference work to represent the lives of some of the major thinkers within this tradition."

"The ideal resource for anyone who wishes to read and understand the Qur’ān as a text and as a vital piece of Muslim life."

"...first cohesive and discreet reference work which covers the Jews of Muslim lands particularly in the late medieval, early modern and modern periods."

"This volume is motivated by a simple premise: Cities need to be brought back into the analysis of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Long obscured by a focus on the empire or the state, their agency denied and curtailed, cities can and should receive greater attention from those interested in the region."