The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys

Surveys 1400 years of Islamic missionary thought and practice, from the 7th century to the present day

• Covers the full sweep of Islamic missionary history in one volume
• Includes fresh readings of the Qur’an and life of Muhammad and examines key developments in pre-modern Islam through the lens of da‘wa
• Shows how contemporary da‘wa has been shaped by both classical precedents and the transformations of modernity
• Emphasises the diversity of da‘wa thought and practice over time
• Offers compelling insights into why missionary da‘wa has become the outlet of choice for many activist Muslims in modern times
• Includes dozens of illustrations, maps and case studies, giving the reader further insight into da‘wa past and present

In this engaging study, Matthew J. Kuiper tells the fascinating story of how Islam became a world religion and cultural phenomenon of immense scale, astonishing diversity and global impact. His starting point is the dramatic upsurge in Islamic missionary activism and widespread Muslim recovery of the classical concept of da‘wa (‘inviting’ to Islam, or Islamic mission) in recent times.

Going back to Islam’s origins, Kuiper then carefully chronicles 14 centuries of history, from the 7th-century da‘was of the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad to diverse da‘wa initiatives in today’s global religious marketplaces. Paying attention to changing contexts, and to themes like the interplay between the religious and the political, Islamic relations with other religions, and the transformations of modernity, he develops a nuanced and original portrait of the past, present and future of Islamic missionary thought and practice.

A new edition of the classic introduction to Christian-Muslim relations from earliest times to the present

Key features of the new edition include:

• Adds a major new chapter covering the key developments in Christian–Muslim relations in the 21st century
• Covers the Dialogue of Civilisations initiative, the Building Bridges seminars, the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies and the Common Word document
• Explores the events of 9/11, the Danish cartoons controversy, Pope Benedict’s Regensburg Lecture and the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti
• Updated chronology and bibliography

Christians and Muslims comprise the world’s two largest religious communities. This book looks at the history of their relationship – part peaceful co-existence and part violent confrontation – from their first encounters in the medieval period up to the present. It emphasises the theological, cultural and political context in which perceptions and attitudes have developed and gives a depth of historical insight to the complex current Christian–Muslim interactions across the globe.

The first history-based integrated overview of Islam and Muslims in present-day Central Asia

Between the tenth and sixteenth centuries Central Asia was one of the most prestigious cultural areas of the entire Muslim world, playing a pivotal role in the Silk Road trade. Throughout that history, and up to the present, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and other Muslim peoples of Central Asia have developed their own unique understanding and practice of Islam which has shaped their national identity and particular social and political evolution.

These special characteristics of Central Asian Islam ensured its survival during seventy years of Soviet atheist rule, while in the post-Soviet period Islam has been integrated into nation-building projects in constitutionally secular Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

This absorbing history is traced in this fascinating study which shows how, from the seventh century to the present day, the region’s people have negotiated their distinctively Central Asian Islamic identity in the face of enduring external Islamic and non-Islamic dominations, ethnic nationalisms and, more recently, global transnational Islamic influences.

Key Features

• The first integrated account of the Muslims of the present-day states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
• Synthesises up-to-date research with existing Western, Russian and Central Asian scholarship on Islam and Muslims in Central Asia
• Employs a Central Asia-centric approach focusing on the region as a geographically and culturally self-sustained entity, with strong links to Russia, the Middle East, South Asia, Iran, Turkey and China
• Includes numerous photographs taken during field-work in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Introduces the centuries-old history of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe

The history and contemporary situation of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe are explored here from three angles. First, survival, telling of the resilience of these Muslim communities in the face of often restrictive state policies and hostile social environments, especially during the Communist period. Next, their subsequent revival in the aftermath of the Cold War, and last, transformation, looking at the profound changes currently taking place in the demographic composition of the communities and in the forms of Islam practised by them. The reader is shown a picture of the general trends common to the Muslim communities of Eastern Europe, and the special characteristics of clusters of states, such as the Baltics, the Balkans, the Višegrad states, and the European states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Key Features

• Places Muslim communities of Eastern Europe within their historical and pan-European context, establishing them as belonging in and to Europe
• Provides an overview of the history and current trends in Muslim communities in 21 post-Communist Eastern European countries
• Analyses the situation of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe on a country-cluster basis (North-Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Moldova; the successor states of Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia; South-Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania; Central Europe: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia)
• Provides an overview of the emerging trends in conversion to Islam among Eastern Europeans

An accessible and up-to-date introduction to the study of the Qur’an in its historical context

The Qur’an represents both Islam’s historical point of origin and its scriptural foundation, inaugurating a new religion and, ultimately, a new civilisation. Yet the text itself can be difficult to understand, and the scholarship devoted to it is often highly technical. This comprehensive introduction to the basic methods and current state of historical-critical Qur’anic scholarship covers all of the field’s major questions, such as: Where and when did the Qur’an emerge? How do Qur’anic surahs function as literary compositions? How do the Qur’an’s main themes and ideas relate to and transform earlier Jewish and Christian traditions?

Reading this book will give you the tools needed to work with and understand this vital but complex text.

Key Features

• Engages with alternative arguments and perspectives and offers a rigorously historical perspective on controversial topics such as Qur’anic militancy
• Synthesises a literary approach to the Qur’an with detailed attention to its engagement with Jewish and Christian traditions
• Provides specific and accessible examples, including exemplary analyses of several Qur’anic surahs and passages and a case study of the Qur’anic Adam narratives
• Offers a rigorously historical perspective on controversial topics such as Qur’anic militancy and the Qur’an’s engagement with Judaism and Christianity
• Includes figures and tables highlighting key facts

Explores the history of Islam in the largest Muslim nation state in the world

Located on the eastern periphery of the historical Muslim world, as a political entity Indonesia is barely a century old. Yet with close to a quarter of a billion followers of Islam it is now the largest and most populous Muslim country in the world. As the greatest political power in Southeast Asia, and a growing player on the world scene, Indonesia presents itself as a bridge country between Asia, the wider Muslim world and the West.

In this survey Carool Kersten presents the Islamisation of Indonesia from the first evidence of the acceptance of Islam by indigenous peoples in the late thirteenth century until the present day. He provides comprehensive insight into the different roles played by Islam in Indonesia throughout history, including the importance of Indian Ocean networks for connecting Indonesians with the wider Islamic world, the religion’s role as a means of resistance and tool for nation building, and postcolonial attempts to forge an ‘Indonesian Islam’.

Key Features

• The first comprehensive historical survey of the Islamisation of Indonesia from the arrival of Islam in the 13th century until the present
• An interdisciplinary study of the place and role of Islam in Indonesia
• An overview of the religion’s growing significance in the formation of what is now the largest and most populous Muslim country in the world

Surveys the contributions of Islamic astronomers and mathematicians to the development of astronomy and astrology

It was the astronomers and mathematicians of the Islamic world who provided the theories and concepts that paved the way from the geocentric theories of Claudius Ptolemy in the second century AD to the heliocentric breakthroughs of Nicholas Copernicus and Johannes Kepler in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Algebra, the Arabic numeral system, and trigonometry: all these and more originated in the Muslim East and undergirded an increasingly accurate and sophisticated understanding of the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets. This nontechnical overview of the Islamic advances in the heavenly sciences allows the general reader to appreciate (for the first time) the absolutely crucial role that Muslim scientists played in the overall development of astronomy and astrology in the Eurasian world.

Key Features

• The first accessible, non-technical history of Islamic astronomy and astrology
• Surveys the major advances in the heavenly sciences from Isfahan, Maragha and Samarqand from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries
• Shows the impact of astronomy and astrology on individuals and institutions
• Looks at the influence of almanacs and horoscopes in the Mughal, Ottoman and Safavid Empires
• Considers the ways Islamic astronomy and astrology shaped beliefs and practices in the medieval and early modern Islamic and European worlds

Introduces the social, political, cultural and religious position of Muslims living in contemporary Europe

This introduction to the story of Muslims in Western Europe describes their early history and outlines the causes and courses of modern Muslim immigration. It explains how Muslim communities have developed in individual countries, their origins, present-day ethnic composition, distribution and organisational patterns, and the political, legal and cultural contexts in which they exist are explored. There is also a comparative consideration of issues common to Muslims in all Western European countries including the role of the family, and the questions of worship, education and religious thought.

New to this edition:

• All six country-related chapters (France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, Scandinavia, Southern Europe ) are substantially updated
• The chapter on family, law and culture is revised to include the work from recent studies
• The chapter on Muslim organisations now covers groups and movements that have developed in the last decade
• The chapter on European Muslims in a new Europe now covers the cartoon crisis, Eurabia-Islamophobia and new radical nationalism
• All statistics are updated

Discusses key issues in Islam today, including Shari'a, jihad, politics, gender and interfaith relations

• Listen to an interview with Asma Afsaruddin on the New Books Network
• Received an honorable mention at the 2016 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize

Key ‘hot-button’ contemporary issues in Islam, often at the centre of public scrutiny, are the focus of this book. By placing the discussion of topics such as the Shari'a, jihad, the caliphate, women’s status and interfaith relations within a longer historical framework, Contemporary Issues in Islam reveals their multiple interpretations and contested applications over time.

Most public – and occasionally academic – discourses in the West present the Islamic tradition as unchanging and therefore unable to respond to the modern world. Such an ahistorical approach can foster the belief that Muslim-majority and Western societies are destined to clash. This book reveals instead the diversity and transformations within Islamic thought over time. Focusing on this internal diversity permits us to appreciate the scriptural and intellectual resources available within the Islamic tradition for responding to the challenges of modernity, even as this tradition interrogates and shapes modernity itself.

Key Features

• Identifies seven key “controversial” issues that frequently emerge concerning Islam in public discussions, academic and non-academic
• Historically contextualized discussion of these key issues and concepts in the context of modernity and relations with the West
• Challenges the “clash of civilizations” thesis by identifying shared, universal values that are retrievable from a deeper, historicised investigation of the Islamic past and its connection with the present
• Interrogates the premise that secularisation must precede a successful transition to modernity and that Western-style modernity is the only paradigm available

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Introduces a unique and successful society, and its powerful legacy in forming modern Spain

What made Muslim Spain a unique and successful society? By adopting a multidisciplinary approach within a chronological framework, Richard Hitchcock explores the nature of Muslim Spain's powerful legacy in the formation of modern Spain, whilst constantly keeping in view the shifting social patterns caused by the changing balance between town and country, constant military activity and concerns about their environment.

You will learn about the main historical developments in al-Andalus, such as the eventual establishment of Islam, the splendour of the Caliphate, the disintegration of central authority, the invasions from North Africa and the ongoing struggle to retain independence when confronted with the increasingly powerful Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile. You will also find wide-ranging discussions of inter-faith relations and the intellectual currents created by Spain's unique synthesis of pluralism and external influences.

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Charts the history and development of one of the most enduring branches of Shi'ism

As many as 40 different Shi`i groups existed in the 9th and 10th centuries yet only 3 forms have survived. Why is Twelver Shi`ism one of them?

As the established faith in modern Iran, the majority faith in Iraq and areas in the Gulf and with its adherents forming sizeable minorities elsewhere in the region, Twelver Shi'ism is arguably the most successful branch of Shi'ism. Andrew J. Newman chronicles the progression of Twelver Shiism, exploring the numerous external challenges and internal disagreements that marked the lives of believers in pockets across the Middle East to the early 18th century. During this time, from the 13th to the 15th century especially, with scholarly activity and the availability of earlier key texts of the faith limited, the region’s many millenarian doctrines and movements threatened its demise. Only by the late 17th century was Twelver Shiism’s survival assured, both in Iran and elsewhere in the region.

Traces archaeology’s contribution to Islamic culture from its earliest manifestations to the present

This introduction to the archaeology of the Islamic world traces the history of the discipline from its earliest manifestations through to the present and evaluates the contribution made by archaeology to the understanding of key aspects of Islamic culture. The author argues that it is essential for the results of archaeological research to be more fully integrated into the wider historical study of the Islamic world. His organisation of the book into broad themes allows a focus on issues that are relevant across different regions and periods, and the broad geographical scope reflects the main focus of archaeological work in the Islamic world to the present day.

Key Features

• Includes short case studies to allow the reader to examine the ways in which archaeologists collect and interpret material in specific contexts
• Considers archaeological work conducted in the area stretching from Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics in the east to Spain in the west
• Draws comparisons with Islamic regions of sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent
• Includes a Glossary of archaeological terminology and Arabic, Persian and Turkish terms

Explores Arab-Muslim rule and society in Sicily and south Italy from 800 to 1300

This significant work focuses on the formation and disintegration of Arab-Muslim rule and society in Sicily and south Italy between 800 and 1300 which led to the creation of an enduring Muslim-Christian frontier during the age of the Crusades. It examines the long and short-term impact of Islamic authority and culture on these regions and how they later fell into the hands of European rulers, explaining how the Norman conquest of Sicily came to import radically different dynamics to the central Mediterranean. The change of ruling elites left a majority Muslim population under Christian rule, but the Sicilian kings also adopted and adapted political ideologies from south Mediterranean regimes while absorbing cultural influences from the diverse peoples over whom they ruled.

This work provides an engaging, expert and wide-ranging introduction to the subject and offers fresh and clear insights into the political, religious, social, economic and cultural evolution of Europe and the Islamic world.

Key Features

• A welcome introduction a field where very little has been written
• Explores the formation of lasting Muslim-Christian frontiers in medieval Europe
• Covers issues including Muslim-Christian relations, conquest, colonisation, conflict and acculturation, and the transmission and exchange of ideas from east to west

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This book is a comprehensive historical overview of the formative period of Sufism, the major mystical tradition in Islam, from the ninth to the twelfth century CE. Based on a fresh reading of the primary sources and integrating the findings of recent scholarship on the subject, the author presents a unified narrative of Sufism's historical development within an innovative analytical framework. Karamustafa gives a new account of the emergence of mystical currents in Islam during the ninth century and traces the rapid spread of Iraq-based Sufism to other regions of the Islamic world and its fusion with indigenous mystical movements elsewhere, most notably the Mal?matiyya of northeastern Iran. He analyses extensively the formation of Sufi communities, the imbrication of Sufi sainthood with popular saints' cults as well as nonconformist dimensions of Sufism and fully explicates the reasons for the increasing social prominence of the Sufi mode of piety during this early period in Islamic history.

Key Features

• Strikes a balance between social and intellectual history
• Identifies and articulates questions of interest to scholars, students and general readers
• Consistently locates Sufism within its broader social and intellectual context

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The medical tradition that developed in the lands of Islam during the medieval period (c. 650–1500) has, like few others, influenced the fates and fortunes of countless human beings. It is the story of contact and cultural exchange across countries and creeds, affecting caliphs, kings, courtiers, courtesans, and the common crowd. In addition to being fascinating in its own right, it formed the roots from which modern Western medicine arose. Contrary to the stereotypical picture, medieval Islamic medicine was not simply a conduit for Greek ideas, but was a locus for innovation and change.

The book is organised around five topics: the emergence of medieval Islamic medicine and its intense cross-pollination with other cultures, the theoretical medical framework, the function of physicians within the larger society, the medical care as seen through preserved case histories, and the role of magic and devout religious invocations in scholarly as well as everyday medicine. A concluding chapter on the ‘afterlife’ concerns the impact of medieval Islamic medicine upon the European medical tradition and its continued practice today. The aim of this book is not to compress the entire history of medieval Islamic medicine into a single small volume. Rather, it presents an overview, highlighted with particular examples.

The book is organised around five topics: the emergence of medieval Islamic medicine and its intense cross-pollination with other cultures, the theoretical medical framework, the function of physicians within the larger society, the medical care as seen through preserved case histories, and the role of magic and devout religious invocations in scholarly as well as everyday medicine. A concluding chapter on the ‘afterlife’ concerns the impact of medieval Islamic medicine upon the European medical tradition and its continued practice today. The aim of this book is not to compress the entire history of medieval Islamic medicine into a single small volum

This book provides a succinct introduction to modern Arabic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Designed primarily as an introductory textbook for English-speaking undergraduates, it will also be of interest to a more general readership interested in the contemporary Middle East or in comparative and modern literature. The work attempts to situate the development of modern Arabic literature in the context of the medieval Arabic literary tradition as well as the new literary forms derived from the West, exploring the interaction between social, political and cultural change in the Middle East and the development of a modern Arabic literary tradition. Poetry, prose writing and the theatre are discussed in separate chapters. The work overall aims to give a balanced account of the subject, reflecting the different pace of literary development in diverse parts of the Arab world, including North Africa.

Key Features

• A concise introduction to a field that deserves to be better known in the West
• Clear presentation, based on extensive classroom experience of teaching the subject
• Guidance on other sources of further information
• Extensive bibliography, with list of works in English translation

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Those coming to the study of Islamic history for the first time face a baffling array of rulers and dynasties in the many different areas of Islam.

This book provides a comprehensive and reliable reference source for all students of history and culture. It lists by name the rulers of all the principal Islamic dynasties with Hijri and Common Era dates. Each dynastic list is followed by a brief assessment of its historical significance, and by a short bibliography.

Fully updated and substantially revised and expanded for a modern audience, this handbook is based upon Bosworth's renowned The Islamic Dynasties, first published in 1967 and revised in 1980. As well as increasing the number of dynasties covered from 82 to 186, innovations in the new edition include much more extensive listings of honorific titles and of filiations, allowing genealogical connections within dynasties to be made.

Key Features:

• Only reliable chronological and genealogical listing available
• Covers all the areas of the Islamic world including Afghanistan, the Arabian peninsula, Central Asia, East Africa, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, North Africa, Persia, South East Asia, Spain, Syria, Turkey and West Africa
• Includes 186 dynasties
• Records those rulers who issued coins - of great interest to Islamic numismatics

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A new edition of Heinz Halm's comprehensive survey of all the Shi'ite groups. It traces the development of all the individual branches from their common origins to their current status in the modern world.

The dogmatic and organisational development of each of the various branches of Shi'ism is discussed and is placed in the context of their particular history.

Special attention is given to the emergence of the Imamite 'clergy' and the social and political role which has enabled them to establish a revolutionary regime in Iran, and each chapter contains an invaluable bibliography giving easy access to other books and original sources in translation.

Key Features

• each branch of Shi'ism placed in its own historical context
• bibliographies at the end of each chapter divided into primary and secondary sources
• includes chapters on all varieties of Shi'ism
• New edition contains new material on the Shi'a in Iraq and on the Iranian Revolution, and up-dated bibliographies

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This survey of Islamic Law combines Western and Islamic views and describes the relationship between the original theories of Islamic law and the views of contemporary Islamic writers. Covering the key topics in the area - including the history, sources and formation of Islamic Law, the legal mechanisms, and the contemporary context - it is strong in its coverage of the modern perspective, which particularly marks this book out from other texts in this field. The aim is to provide the student with a background understanding of Islamic Law and access to the complexity of the Islamic legal system. The language used is non-technical and understanding is aided with a supplementary detailed glossary and analytical indices.

Selling Points

• Author is a well-known scholar who is a lawyer by original profession and who has taught Islamic Law for 22 years: ideally placed to write an introductory survey of the field.
• No prior knowledge assumed
• Uses non-technical language
• Includes a glossary of key terms

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Is there something unique about Islamic art? This book argues that there is not - that Islam does not play an leading role in the aesthetic judgements that we should make about objects created in the Islamic world.

It is often argued that a very special sort of consciousness went into creating Islamic art, that it is very different from other forms of art, that Muslims are not allowed to portray human beings in their art, and that calligraphy is the supreme Islamic art form. Oliver Leaman challenges all these ideas, showing them to be misguided. Instead he suggests that the sort of criteria we should apply to Islamic art are identical to the criteria applicable to art in general, and that the attempt to put Islamic art into a special category is a result of orientalism

Key Features

• Criticises the influence of Sufism on Islamic aesthetics
• Deals with issues arising in painting, calligraphy, architecture, gardens, literature, films, and music
• Pays close attention to the Qur'an
• Argument includes examples from history, art, philosophy, theology and the artefacts of the Islamic world

The reader is invited to view Islamic art as no more and no less than ordinary art, neither better nor worse than anything else that counts as art. It follows that there are no special techniques required in Islamic aesthetics as compared with any other form of aesthetics.

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WINNER of the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize 2004

This book aims to present general readers and specialists alike with a broad survey of Islamic political thought in the six centuries from the rise of Islam to the Mongol invasions. Based on a wide variety of sources, some of a type not previously considered in works on political thought, it seeks to bring out the enormous scope and high level of historical (and, in some cases, contemporary) interest of medieval Muslim thinking on this subject.

The author aims to make Islamic political thought easier for modern readers to understand by relating it to the contexts in which it was formulated, analysing it in terms familiar to the reader, and, where possible, comparing it with medieval European and modern thought.

Guiding the reader through this complex history on a tour of one of the great civilizations of the pre-modern world, the book brings out the fascinating nature of medieval Islamic political thought, both in its own right and as the background to political thinking in the Muslim world today.

Some basic familiarity with Islamic history and culture would be an advantage, but no specialist knowledge is presupposed.

Key Features:

• Written by one of the most renowned scholars in the field
• All concepts have been glossed and all persons, events and historical developments have been identified or summarised, both on first encounter and in the index (where the number of the page containing the gloss will be emboldened)
• Specialists are addressed in the footnotes; non-specialists are free to skip these and read an uncluttered text.

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Reviews of the first edition:

'Students of Islam… will find it an invaluable and convenient source of information.'

Journal of Semitic Studies

'A major reference tool for student and teacher for many years to come.'

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

'This impressive book… is certain to be kept at the desk where lectures are written.'

Journal of the American Oriental Society

'Endress presents an accurate picture of the interplay of religious inspiration and historical circumstances which shaped Islamic history from its inception… It reflects a distinct sensitivity to the nuances of the subject culture, combined with a clear command of the scholarly sources… It is therefore most appropriate for graduate students beginning a Middle East or Islamic specialization, for professional scholars with other specializations seeking a synoptic treatment of Islamic history, or for teachers in need of an outline for an Islamic survey course.'

MESA Bulletin

This highly acclaimed survey provides a thoughtful and concise account of all aspects of Islam in history. Following an appraisal of the study of Islam, Gerhard Endress guides the reader through key elements:

• Religion (including the Revelation of the prophet Muhammad and the development of doctrine in its historical setting)
• Law and the state in medieval Islam
• Social and economic aspects of medieval Islam
• The historical development of each of the main regions of the Islamic world (the Arabian peninsula; Syria and Palestine; Iraq; Spain; North Africa; Egypt; Iran; Anatolia)
• The principal trends and major periods of Islamic history
• The development of Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages
• Names and Titles
• The Muslim calendar
• A chronology of political and cultural events from the rise of Islam to the twentieth century

Written in clear and accessible language, this is the essential introduction to Islamic history and culture. The new edition has been corrected and revised, and includes a fully updated bibliography.

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Winner of the 1999 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies.

Described by the BKFS reviewer as A ground-breaking work on a subject that has been almost totally neglected."

"Why write history in Persian?" Persian historical writing has received little attention as compared with Arabic, especially as seen in the early (pre-Mongol) period. Within the larger context of the development of Islamic historiography from the 10th through the 12th centuries, the case of Persian historical writing demands special attention. Discussions tend to concentrate on its sources in pre-Islamic Persian and in Arabic works, while the reasons for its emergence, its connections with Iranian and Arabic models, its political and cultural functions, and its reception, have been virtually ignored. This study answers these questions and addresses issues relating to the motivation for writing the works in question; its purpose; the role of the author, patrons and audiences; the choice of language and the reasons for that choice; the place of historical writing in the broader debate over the suitability of Persian for scholarly writing.

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Examining the close relationship between religious beliefs and political doctrine in Islamic countries, this introductory book offers a clear account of how Islamic political thought has developed from the politico-religious structure established by Mohammed and his immediate successors.

Despite being one of the key Shi'i Muslim communities, the Ismailis were until recently studied primarily on the basis of the accounts of their enemies. This new introduction is the first to be based on modern scholarship, taking account of recently recovered Ismaili texts. It covers all the main developments in the major phases of Ismaili history, from the early formative period, through the Fatamid golden age and the Alamut and post-Alamut periods, to more recent history. Dealing only with the most important historical developments, this is a comprehensive and accessible survey for all newcomers to the subject."

This highly readable survey describes the development of Islamic medicine and its influence on Western medical thought. It explains the main features of Islamic medicine: its system of human physiology; its ideas about the nature of disease; its rules for diet and the use of drugs; and its relationship with astrology and the occult.

This comprehensive introduction to the history of Islamic Spain takes thereader through the events, people and movements from 711 to 1492.

The Hadith are believed to be the words of the Prophet, memorised by his followers and written down in the first or second centuries AH. This is a clear introduction to the arguments surrounding both the Hadith and the documents themselves. Comparing the views put forward in the Hadith with those of the Qur'an, it takes the student through all aspects of the Hadith in clear and accessible terms.

Surveying the life, aims, character and inspiration of Muhammad, this classic introduction explains the history, form and chronology of the Qur'an, and gives the views of Muslim and Occidental scholars.

The classic introduction to Islamic law, tracing its development from its origins, through the medieval period, to its place in modern Islam.

Traces Islamic influence on commerce, science & technology, philosophy and European self-awareness in the Middle Ages

There are no official creeds in Islam, but there is broad agreement in mainstream Sunnite Islam about the chief doctrines. Over the centuries these have been expressed in creeds and have been widely recognised and used for instruction. In this book Professor Watt introduces the history of the creeds and takes the student through a selection of the main ones in translation. Explanatory notes and a single Shi'ite creed are also given in this useful and informative survey.

This introduction to the physical sciences and engineering of the Islamic world is the first to trace the full extent of the Muslim scientific achievement in the period 750-1500. It describes how Muslim scientists and engineers contributed enormously to the technology of medieval Europe.

Guiding Western readers through the endlessly fascinating and complicated system of Islamic personal names, Annemarie Schimmel's directory touches upon almost every aspect of Islamic life.

This is the standard general account in English of Islamic philosophy and theology. It takes the reader from the religio-political sects of the Kharijites and the Shiites through to the assimilation of Greek thought in the medieval period, and onto the early modern period. Watt concludes with an analysis of Western influences on modern Islamic theology.