Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide

Political Islam once appeared to be primarily a Middle Eastern phenomenon; now, after two decades in the headlines, it is clearly established as something much larger than Arab and Iranian. This recognition both helps to see Middle East Islam in its proper context and permits a better understanding of developments in such disparate regions as Southeast Asia and West Africa.

Islam and Islamic Groups offers an alphabetical overview of one hundred and three countries, plus the Commonwealth of Independent States, Israel's occupied territories, and international Islamic organizations. Except for the shortest entries (Peru's is three lines, Hungary's four), the entries consist of three distinct components: background, recent developments, and a listing of prominent organizations. Shaikh and her ten fellow contributors provide reliable information; they seem to have few axes to grind. Their data is spotty, however, and the allocation of space somewhat peculiar: Why does the United States get twice as much space as Syria? Also, a second edition should include a bibliography, however brief, for each country.

Most scholarly books cost about 10 cents a page; even quasi-reference books such as Islam and Islamic Groups habitually go for much more; but it's hard to see what justifies a price of almost 50 cents per page. One of these days some enterprising publisher should try a new strategy: rather than make a limited profit by selling expensive books just to libraries, it will seek larger profits by selling to individuals as well. After all, this approach worked for Henry Ford.

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