The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam

This fully revised new edition comprehensively encompasses the religion, history and culture of the Islamic world in some 1300 entries. It covers aspects of religious belief, ritual, practices, prayer, significant political movements, spiritual and political leaders, art, architecture, sects, law, social institutions, history, ethnography, nations and states, languages, science, major cities and centres of learning.;

This edition includes a double-column page on the Taliban – where they arose from, why, and what they aspire to. Also included are several other organizations and movements which bear upon the crisis that has descended upon the world, West and East alike. The first edition of the Encyclopedia won worldwide acclaim.

The Book Assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. Detailed cross-references lead the general reader into deeper knowledge of’ Islam. whatever his starting point. Many quotations. and hitherto un-translated prayers. support the religious and philosophical entries. Six years in preparation by a practicing Muslim, this work is the result of a Lifetimes study and a wide personal acquaintance with the Muslim world.

As a western scholar (a graduate of Columbia University) and a Practicing Muslim, Cyril Glassé manages to straddle both cultures with an understanding of, and respect for both the current Islamic world and its complex past.