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"Locating Sources for Islamic Studies" by Philip Johnson (Sep. 2001)

"The aquisition and accessing of scholarly written material forms one part of the complex mosaic in studying any religion or in this instance Islam. The proper starting point is not newspaper reports or popular periodicals (such as Time magazine), however interesting they may be, but rather reference works and bibliographical indices. The best way is to take the plunge and become familiar with the nature and scope of coverage of these reference works. Once you have learned how to navigate your way around these tools, then a wider search into specific monographs or scholarly journals can comfortably proceed.

On methodological issues and background on modern religious scholarship generally see Eric J. Sharpe, Comparative Religion: A History (London: Duckworth 1975). Eric J. Sharpe, Understanding Religion (Duckworth 1983), and Th.P. van Baaren & H. J. W. Drijvers (Eds) Religion, Culture and Methodology (The Hague: Mouton 1973). From an evangelical standpoint these are two basic primers Terry Muck, The Mysterious Beyond: A Basic Guide to Studying Religion (Grand rapids: Baker 1993) and Kenneth G. Howkins, The Challenge of Religious Studies (London: Tyndale Press 1972).

On Islam the most important scholarly reference work is The Encyclopedia of Islam, [there was an early 20th century edition and then a later revised one] which is a collaborative work that draws on the contributions of scholars worldwide. The entries are in English, but the titles of each entry use arabic words. For the lay reader who is unfamiliar with the technical arabic jargon one can consult Ian Richard Netton, A Popular Dictionary of Islam (London: Curzon, 1992) as a helpful starting point. This Dictionary provides short succinct entries on people, places and concepts.

Another important collaborative reference work is The Cambridge History of Islam (Two Volumes). This consists of essays on Islamic history, culture, civilisation, law, politics, literature etc. Both the lay reader or specialist can benefit from starting with it. A helpful source-book for early Islamic history is Bernard Lewis (ed) Islam from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople (2 Vols; New York: Harper & Row 1974). It is an anthology of historical source material dealing with Islamic politics, war, religion and society.

Journals are another source of information. There are specific journals devoted to Islamic Studies, as well as general religious journals in which essays concerning Islam appear. To navigate one's way through the maze of scholarly journals one should begin by becoming familiar with the Indexing and Abstracting tools that annually list essays by author and subject. The first and most important of these bibliographical indices is Index Islamicus. Two other useful indices are Religion Index One and Religious & Theological Abstracts. Aside from browsing through these works to discover their scope, a little orientation to the use of these tools can be found in William Badke, The Survivor's Guide to Library Research (Zondervan 1990), and Cyril Barber, Introduction to Theological Research (Moody Press 1982).

Some other bibliographical tools one should refer to and learn to use in the hunt for material on Islam (but not an exhaustive listing here) include:

Library Catalogue of the School for Oriental and African Studies [London University];

Historical Abstracts;

International Bibliography of the History of Religions;

Africa South of the Sahara: Index to Periodical Literature, 1900-1970 [Library of Congress];

Cumulative Bibliography of African Studies;

Cumulative Bibliography of Asian Studies.

Two attractively produced works are:

Francis Robinson, Atlas of the Islamic World since 1500 (Oxford: Equinox 1982). Robinson's text is handsomely illustrated with photographs, maps, tables and charts covering the rise and expansion of Islam, as well as religious life, culture, art, society etc.

Bernard Lewis (ed) The World of Islam: Faith, People, Culture (London: Thames & Hudson 1976). This text profiles the rise of Islam, Islamic learning (art, science, literature), Islamic music, Islamic mysticism, Islamic cities and urban life, Islam in Spain, The Ottoman Empire and so on. It serves as useful introductory work for the lay reader.

Parallel to Lewis' tome is another scholarly survey Joseph Schacht & C. E. Bosworth (eds) The Legacy of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1974). This text also includes essays on Islamic jurisprudence, politics, philosophy, and economics, as well as a helpful essay on Western perceptions of Islam.

On the prophet Muhammad there is the early Islamic biography of Ibn Ishaq published in a scholarly translation as - The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah (translated by Alfred Guillaume; Oxford University Press 1955). Modern scholarly biographical studies include W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca (Oxford University Press 1953), and W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Medina (Oxford University Press 1956). An abridgement of these two tomes was released under the title Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (Oxford University Press 1961). An earlier profile of the religious aspects of Muhammad's life, written by a Swedish religious scholar was Tor Andrae, Muhammad: The Man and His Faith (London 1936). A Marxist understanding was furnished by Maxime Rodinson, Mohammed (Penguin 1971).

A helpful introduction to Islamic jurisprudence is Noel J. Coulson, A History of Islamic Law (Edinburgh University Press 1964, with a more recent edition now available from the same publisher).

Aside from obtaining an english version of the Quran, helpful analyses of it include John Burton, The Collection of the Quran (Cambridge University Press 1977); Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Quran (London: George Allen & Unwin 1973); and Rafiq Zakaria, Muhammad and the Quran (Penguin Books 1991). A more specialised monograph is Geoffrey Parrinder, Jesus in the Quran (Faber & Faber 1965).

General historical and cultural background is covered in Halim Barakat, The Arab World: Society, Culture and State (University of California Press 1993), Philip Hitti, History of the Arabs (10th ed. London: Macmillan, 1970). Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples (London: Faber & Faber 1991). Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in History (London: Hutchinson, 1970). Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Islam in Modern History (Princeton University Press 1957).

On specific studies of Islamic culture see Gustave Von Grunebaum, Islam: Essays in the Nature and Growth of a Cultural Tradition (London 1955); Albert Hourani & S. M. Stern (eds) The Islamic City: A Colloquium (Oxford University Press 1970). Ira Lapidus (ed) Middle Eastern Cities (University of California Press 1969).

Three general primers on Islam include Sir Norman Anderson, Islam in the Modern World: A Christian Perspective (Leicester: Apollos 1990),John Esposito, Islam The Straight Path (Oxford University Press 1988), and Fazlur Rahman, Islam (University of Chicago Press 1979).

On Sufism (Islamic mysticism) see A. J. Arberry, Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam (London: George Allen & Unwin 1950), J. Spencer Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (Oxford University Press 1971) and Anne-Marie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (University of North Carolina Press 1975).

Preliminary details on the Wahhabi movement (which Bin Laden has apparent connections to) can be found in:

Wilfred Cantwell Smith's Islam in Modern History, Albert Hourani's History of the Arab peoples, and Ian Netton's Popular Dictionary of Islam (all referred to above).

Also very pertinent is Mumtaz Ahmad, "Islamic Fundamentalism in South Asia: The Jamaat-i-Islami and the Tablighi Jamaat" in Martin Marty & R. Scott Appleby (eds) Fundamentalisms Observed (University of Chicago Press 1991) pp. 457-530. (Has plenty of footnote references and separate bibliography on primary sources).

Also keep a look out in October for John G. Stackhouse (ed) No Other Gods Before Me: Evangelicals and the Challenge of World Religions (Baker). This book comprises addresses delivered at Regent College in late 2000, and includes an essay by Irving Hexham concerning the current impact of Islam in Europe, and another by Miriam Adeney on anthropological and gospel issues related to Islam. Other contributors include Richard Mouw, Stanley Grenz, Ken Gnanakan etc." [sic]