A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam

June 24, 2002
Interest in Islam is at an all-time high, and beginners who seek basic information about this world faith tradition will find an excellent resource in A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. In short alphabetical entries from the Abbasids to the practice of zakat (almsgiving), Gordon Newby presents fundamental facts about the important concepts, people, places and movements in Islam. The entries are quite short (the note on Sufism, for example, is just over 40 lines long), but full of data. The appendices include a chronology, a list of the 99 divine names and a bibliography for further reading.

September 15, 2002
This is the sixth in Oneworld's concise, helpful encyclopedias on the world's religions, following volumes on the Baha'i faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Judaism. Since each encyclopedia is the work of a single author, the style within each is consistent. This volume is formatted like others in the series. But Newby (chair, Middle Eastern studies, Emory Univ.), the author of two other books and numerous articles on the Middle East, including a "reconstruction" of the earliest biography of the Prophet Muhammad, also includes a note on transliteration and pronunciation, a map of the Muslim world, a historical introduction, a chronology, a bibliography of works easily available in most libraries, and a thematic index. The brief entries provide salient details intended for the lay reader and cover individuals, events, and places, including countries with large Muslim populations. A few black-and-white illustrations help give visual definition to certain architectural and geographical entries. One gap in Newby's book is the incomplete coverage of the various Shi'ahaimams (Zaydi and Ithna Ashariyyah), all of whom warrant at least a brief entry. This work complements Ludwig W. Adamec's Historical Dictionary of Islam, which is pitched to a slightly more academic audience and has a more extensive bibliography but lacks illustrations. Recommended for all libraries as a companion to other one-volume reference works.-William P. Collins, Library of Congress

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