After approximately four decades the “battleship” of modern Islam studies, the Encyclopaedia of Islam (“EI”), was completed and published by the renowned publisher E.J. Brill in eleven large volumes and on CD-ROM. At the same time this publisher issued another encyclopedia: the Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an (“EQ”). One might wonder about the publication of an encyclopedia in addition to the EI. There seem to be two main reasons for this.

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In her doctoral thesis in sociology, Gritt Klinkhammer examines the manner in which young Muslim-Turkish women of the second and third generation live out their Islamic religious affiliation in Germany. Their parents generally belong to the religiously conservative first “guest worker” generation, from whose life and religious practises the young, educated women clearly want to make a break. The parents encouraged their daughters’ Koran school lessons, for example, or observance of Islamic social rules; however, they were often able to give their “enlightened” daughters little justification and explanation for celebrations, manners and religious obligations – justification demanded by the children in the secular environment. Although these parents have now lived in Germany for up to 35 years, they do not see themselves as “Germans”, nor do their children.

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The topic of the German-born Israeli Joseph Croitoru is the historical development of suicide attacks and the ideological background of the movements that train them. His study centres on Muslim terrorists and countries such as Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Chechenya and Kurdistan – the majority of attacks are after all perpetrated by Muslims – but also looks at the Third Reich and Asia (Korea, Japan and Kashmir).

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Makers of the Muslim World is a major new collection to be published between May 2005 and May 2009 featuring over 50 volumes. Each volume will consider the life, work and legacy of a man or woman who has shaped the course of Muslim history by his or her contribution to the political, social, cultural, religious or intellectual Muslim landscape. Series editor Patricia Crone is Mellon Professor of Islamic History at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. She is one of the leading authorities on Islamic history and has previously held positions at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

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The frequent human rights abuses which take place in nearly all countries of the Muslim world are often the result of corrupt or dictatorial regimes and not necessarily due to either Islam or these countries’ view of human rights. Less widely known, however, is that international associations in Muslim countries have formulated their own human rights declarations in opposition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the Plenary session of the United Nations in 1948.

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William C. Chittick’s book Ibn ’Arabi: Heir to the prophets is part of the series Makers of the Muslim World to be published between May 2005 and May 2009 featuring over 50 volumes. Each volume will consider the life, work and legacy of a man or woman who has shaped the course of Muslim history by his or her contribution to the political, social, cultural, religious or intellectual Muslim landscape.

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Does faith pursue a policy? Whoever follows the last years of US-american policy or reflect upon Islam and its future role in Europe can hardly avoid this question. This book addresses the question in light of sociological models in the context of a transatlantic comparison.

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