xixIn publishing the Encyclopedia of Islam I am
indebted to a great many people. Creating an
encyclopedia on any topic is necessarily a group
project, requiring the shared knowledge, insights,
perspectives, skills, and experiences of many.
The task is made even more challenging when it
involves religion, which encompasses so many dif-
ferent subjects—ranging from the historical, social,
political, and cultural to the spiritual, philosophi-
cal, and doctrinal. Moreover, the global nature of
Islam and the sometimes intense differences that
have arisen among Muslims and between Muslims
and non-Muslims during the nearly 1400 years of
its history pose additional challenges when seek-
ing to realize the ideals of comprehensiveness,
factual accuracy, and fairness.
In order to meet the challenges facing this
undertaking, I have made a particular effort to
draw upon the wide-ranging and deep scholarly
talents of the faculty, postgraduate, and graduate
students of the University of California, Santa
Barbara, especially those specializing in Islamic
and Middle East studies. My editorial assistants,
John Iskander (now at the U.S. Department of
State) and Michelle Zimney, helped me launch
the project and assisted with editing early drafts
of many of the contributed articles. Among the
more than 40 contributors, I am especially grate-
ful to Garay Menicucci (University of California,
Santa Barbara), Nuha N. N. Khoury (University of
California, Santa Barbara), Kathleen M. O’Connor
(University of South Florida), Amir Hussain
(Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles),
Jon Armajani (College of St. Benedict/St. John’s
University in Minnesota), Firoozeh Papan-Matin
(University of Washington), Mark Soileau (Albion
College), Anna Bigelow (North Carolina State
University, Megan Adamson Sijapati (Gettysburg
College), Aysha Hidayatullah (Emory Univer-
sity), Caleb Elfenbein (University of California,
Santa Barbara), Linda G. Jones (Spanish National
Research Council in Barcelona), Patrick O’Donnell
(Santa Barbara City College), Nancy L. Stockdale
(University of North Texas), Stephen Cory (Cleve-
land State University), Shauna Huffaker (Univer-
sity of Windsor), Heather N. Keaney (American
University in Cairo), and Reza Aslan (University
of California, Riverside). These individuals wrote
a number of articles for the volume, offering fresh
perspectives obtained from their recent research
in their respective fields of expertise.
Among other colleagues at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, who have provided sup-
port and inspiration are R. Stephen Humphreys,
the holder of the King Abd Al-Aziz ibn Saud Chair
of Islamic Studies; Mark Juergensmeyer, director