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Resources on Islam and the Muslim World |
Anyone surfing the web can find a myriad of web sites that offer perspectives on Islam and Middle Eastern history. The problem for the novice is that most of them are so partisan—either as advocates or opponents of certain issues—that they can leave the reader with a very skewed perspective. The following are links to web sites that I have found useful. All, of course, have a point of view, but they are created and maintained by people who are engaged in genuine dialogue rather than in ideological warfare. Several of them contain links to other reputable sites. |
General Academic Resources
| The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) is the world's largest scholarly organization dealing with Islam and the Middle East. It holds annual meetings in November. Its web page has a large number of valuable links to art collections, film libraries, study opportunities, and other great sites that have been carefully chosen. |
| The Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Seminar (SERMEISS) is the professional organization for precollegiate and university faculty in the region south of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River. It holds meetings in October and March. It has a large film library that lends videos for a nominal charge. |
Islam General
| Professor Alan Godlas of the Department of Religion at the University of Georgia created and maintains a comprehensive website for the study of Islam. It contains a vast array of information, but it is well-arranged.
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| Frontline (PBS) has a rich web site that includes links to thoughtful articles on several topics: Islam, the Qur'an, Islamic Law, Islam and the West, and Islam and Democracy. |
Qur'an
| The Qur'an is Islam's scripture, which is believed to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Professor Godlas's web site at UGA contains a concise survey of Qur'anic topics. |
| Professor Carl Ernst of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a comprehensive bibliography for Qur'anic studies. |
Hadith
| The Hadith, or Sunna, are a collection of thousands of accounts of the extra-Qur'anic sayings of the Prophet and accounts of his behavior in certain circumstances. By conveying the Prophet's words and behavior, they provide models to Muslims of how the godly life can be lived. Professor Godlas's website provides a user-friendly introduction to a complex field. |
Islamic Calendar
| The Islamic (hijri) calendar is lunar, not solar, and it helps to have calendar converters to give the hijri equivalents of Gregorian dates. The webexhibits site has a concise but comprehensive description of the Islamic calendar; the website of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Zurich University is a helpful calendar converter. |
Muslim World
| The website for the University of Chicago's Middle East collection has several valuable resources; I especially like its collection of nineteenth-century photographs of the Middle East.
Arab Culture and Civilization is a detailed and coherent study guide for understanding Arab history and culture. It was devised by the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education, a consortium of liberal arts colleges. The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas has a huge collection of on-line maps of various regions of the world. The CIA World Factbook is a wonderful resource on each country in the world. It contains information relating to population, religious affiliation, economics, politics, health, and other topics.
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