The fifth volume of ‘The Great Islamic Encyclopedia’ has been translated into English and published under the title of ‘Encyclopedia Islamica’, similar to the previous four volumes, by Brill Academic Publishers in Leiden, the Netherlands.
So far, 21 volumes in Persian have been published by the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia (CGIE) and the project is still ongoing, but the English version will be published in 16 volumes, plus four volumes under the title ‘Footnote’.
The project started with the alphabet ‘A’ in 2008 and is expected to be completed in 2023. The fifth volume of ‘Encyclopedia Islamica’ has now reached ‘D’, IBNA reported.
Senior advisor of the center Kianoush Kiyani-Haftlang said that the chief editors of the English version are Wilferd Madelung and Farhad Daftary.
Madelung, 85, was the professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford from 1978 to 1998. He has written extensively on the early history of Islam, as well as on Islamic sects such as the Shias and the Ismailis. He has served on the editorial boards of several academic journals including the Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies. He is currently a senior research fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London.
Daftary, 77, is associate director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is an authority on Mediaeval Islam and Ismaili studies, consulting editor of Encyclopedia Iranica, and sits on the advisory board of the Encyclopaedia of Islam.
In Arabic
The Great Islamic Encyclopedia has also been published in Arabic. Up to now, twenty-one volumes of the book have been released. It is considered to be the most detailed encyclopedia of contemporary Iran and Islamic countries.
The Great Islamic Encyclopedia is one of the most comprehensive sources on Islam and the Muslim world. One unique feature of the work lies in the attention it gives to Shia Islam and its rich and diverse heritage, which makes it complementary to other encyclopedias.
In addition to providing entries on important themes, subjects and personages in Islam generally, it offers the western reader an opportunity to appreciate the various dimensions of Shia Islam, the Persian contribution to Islamic civilization, and the spiritual dimensions of Islamic tradition.
The CGIE is a major research institute based in Tehran, Iran. Established in 1983, it is charged with the task of researching and publishing general and topical encyclopedias about Iranian and Islamic culture.
