All aspects of Islam are here, from rituals to political movements, from art and history, to language and science. The first edition of the Encyclopaedia won worldwide acclaim. As a western scholar of the Islamic faith, Cyril Glassé manages to straddle both cultures with an understanding of, and respect for both the current Islamic world and its complex past. This unique single-volume work consists of 1,300 entries, containing a wide rage of new entries. It covers the contemporary Islamic scene, and includes a substantial entry on the Taliban, plus information on other movements which bear upon the crisis that has lately descended upon the world. This new edition also contains an extensively revised chronology which spans the entire history of Islam, from its origins through developments in the Muslim world today.