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Cover

The Oxford Dictionary of Islam

Editor in Chief John L. Esposito

Publication Date - 21 October 2004

ISBN: 9780195125597

384 pages
Paperback
5 x 7-11/16 inches

In Stock

An A-Z dictionary with approximately 2000 entries spanning the religious, political, and social spheres of modern Islam with background historical entries and a particular emphasis on Islam and the West.

Description

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

Features

  • 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 th

About the Author(s)

John L. Esposito is University Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. A past president of the Middle East Studies Association, he is Editor-in-Chief of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, Editor of The Oxford Illustrated History of Islam, and the author of numerous books, including Islam: The Straight Path, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, and What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

"News coverage of the Arab world has expanded and improved in the last two years.... The Oxford Dictionary of Islam may be your best bet short of reading a pile of books, or living next door to a professor of Islamic studies. John L. Esposito, professor of religion and international affairs at Georgetown University, has assembled an impressive team of contributors who have produced a concise, accessible reference volume. With more than 2,000 entries, it covers almost anything you might want to look up, and some crucially important things you might not think to."--The New York Times, Education Life

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