Islam and Muslim Culture
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
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Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500
Level 1 Reference DS35.6 .R6 1982
Not merely an atlas but also a historical overview of Islamic political and social development, this full-color resource contains maps detailing the geographic development of various aspects of Islam, as well as illustrations depicting works of art, architecture, and artifacts.
- Columbia World Dictionary of Islamism
Level 1 Reference BP40 .D5313 2007
This work features more than two thousand entries on the history of Islamism and Islamic nations. These detailed, alphabetically arranged entries span topics such as the roots of Islamism and jihad in specific countries to profiles of key individuals to descriptions of major organizations and religious movements. An index is included.
- Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopaedia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together with the Technical and Theological terms, of the Muhammadan Religion
Level 1 Reference BP40 .H8 1995
A reprint of the 1885 edition of Thomas Patrick Hughes' Dictionary of Islam, this resource defines theological terms and gives brief biographical information on religious personages. Although dated, this is still one of the seminal English-language reference works on Islam.
- An Historical Atlas of Islam
Level 1 Reference G1786.S1 H6 2002
The beautiful atlas uses maps and images to convey the history of Islam, geographically and culturally. The maps reveal things such as the spread if languages through the Islamic world, the development and growth of Islamic cities and regions, and the Islamic view of the world and the heavens through time. The atlas contains an index, and is written in both English and French.
- Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey
Level 1 Reference BP60 .M36 1999
This resource provides an even-handed, sometimes historical, perspective of basic concepts, ideologies, leaders, groups, and movements of Islamic fundamentalism. A detailed chronology of modern Islam (1804 to 1998) and an extensive bibliography on general and country-specific topics are also included.
- Muslim Almanac: A Reference Work on the History, Faith, Culture, and Peoples of Islam
Level 1 Reference BP40 .M83 1996
Less an almanac than a collection of essays on current and historical aspects of the Muslim community worldwide, this resource covers subjects including: history, society, law, spiritual traditions, arts, literature, education, and contemporary politics.
- Muslim Peoples: A World Ethnographic Survey
Level 1 Reference DS35.625.A1 M87
Nearly 100 major Muslim groups are profiled in individual chapters in this reference source. Some maps, charts and figures illustrating population details are also included.
- New Encyclopedia of Islam
Level 1 Reference BP40 .G42 2001
This encyclopedia, published in 2001, offers basic background information on a wide range of ideas, beliefs, people, places, and groups in the Islamic world. The book also includes several maps, images, and graphics, as well as a chronology and bibliography.
- Oxford Dictionary of Islam
Simmons Eresource
This resource provides short definitions of and introductions to topics pertaining to the religious, political, and social spheres of modern (19th- and 20th-century) Islam.
- Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World
Level 1 Reference DS35.53 .O95 1995
Focusing on the institutions, religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies throughout the world, this resource places particular emphasis on recent history, with a multidisciplinary approach to topics including: history and geography, religion and philosophy, politics, economics, culture, society, and more.
- Popular Dictionary of Islam
Level 1 Reference BP40 .N48 1992
A source for definitions on theological, philosophical and legal Islamic terms. Most of the entries are in Arabic (transcribed in English) but cross-references to the English equivalents are also available. A bibliography of English-language readings is provided at the end of the volume.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- Humanities Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database of article citations on topics in the Humanities, some available full-text. Includes content from more than 300 key humanities publications, including feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, and television and radio programs.
- Religious Studies Online Journals
Free Online
A list of links to electronic, full-text scholarly journals on religious studies. The links are categorized and briefly annotated.
This is not a searchable database.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
- JSTOR
Simmons Eresource
JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. Provides full-text backfiles of many core scholarly journals, some dating back to the 1800s. However, JSTOR is not the database for current issues as it focuses on older journals.
- Project MUSE
Simmons Eresource
Offers nearly 250 quality journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. As one of the academic community's primary electronic periodicals resources, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Project MUSE is setting the standard for scholarly electronic journals in the humanities and social science.
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you to find information about Islam and Muslim Culture on the free web. Use this Islam and Muslim Culture Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, theIslam and Muslim Culture Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
