The
Islamic World: Past and Present.
John L. Esposito, ed. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2004. Pp. 720 (3 vols.). $325.00, hardcover. ISBN:
0-19-517594-8. TEL: 800-451-7556 • email: custserv. us@oup.com
Since the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., on September
11, 2001, students and people everywhere are filled with questions about Islam.
What do Muslims believe? Who is Osama bin Laden? What is a jihad? What is
Sunni Islam? What is Shi’i Islam? What is Shari’ah? What is a
burqa? What is an imam? Even though Islam is a major religion, with over a
billion followers worldwide and over six million in the United States alone,
there is still uncertainty and misunderstanding about the ideas, tenets, and
practice of it.
Understanding Islam and the people who believe in it has become crucially
important for the rest of the world, and this three-volume set is designed
to foster understanding and answer questions. Esposito’s four-volume
The Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (1995) set the standard for references
on Islam. Adapted from this set, this book brings the scholarship and information
of the original to general readers and to college and high-school students.
In addition to the more approachable language and user-friendly page layout,
this reference covers events and changes of the last eight years. It also
includes entirely new entries to provide coverage of the pre-modern world
of Islam. Containing more than 300 articles, it provides a comprehensive resource
for gaining understanding into a belief system that seems mysterious and incomprehensible
to many.
This is a timely set of books. For many in the West, Islam is an enigmatic
faith. With America deeply embroiled in the Middle East, never has it been
more important for us to understand the religion that is the moral lodestone
for over one billion people. This is a very readable set of books. A good
index guides readers easily to any topics they want to research.
