This abridged paperpack version of The Historical Dictionary of Islam includes short biographies of theologians, philosophers, founders of Sunni and Shi'ite schools of jurisprudence, and individuals who influenced the interpretation of Islamic dogma, politics, and culture from early days to the present. The reader will find entries on major sects, philosophical trends, and the responses by Islamic movements to issues of 21st century politics, such as the inroads of Westernization in the Islamic world. A chronology lists important dates from the sixth to the end of the 20th century and an...

All the information currently available on the endless chain of wars stretching over two and a half centuries is traced in The A to Z of Afghan Wars, Revolutions and Insurgencies. It consists of the American involvement in Afghanistan since October 2001 as well as individual campaigns, including tactics and logistics of skirmishes, the weapons used, and biographical entries on the significant leaders involved in the battles. Extensive analysis of regional and ideological divisions within the country and the external forces that have brought around conflict in this remote, mountainous region,...

Muslims believe that the Koran is God's message in Arabic, revealed through the medium of the Prophet Muhammad for the guidance of the Arabs and subsequently for all humanity. There is both unity and variety in the Islamic world. Muslims are not a homogeneous people who can be explained solely by their normative texts: the Koran and the Sunnah. Muslims differ vastly in their interpretation of Islam: modernists want to reinterpret Islam to adapt to the requirements of modern times while traditionalists tend to look to the classical and medieval periods of Islam as their model of the Islamic...