Editorial Board

Reviewed by: S.M. Estelle-Holmer
Review of Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Vol. 2: Family, Law and Politics.
Published by: Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries (July 2005)
Web Page:www.choicemag.org

The first of five projected volumes in the second section of EWIC (v.1, CH, Jun'04, 41-56662), this enormous effort (over 360 entries) concentrates on family, law, and politics as they relate to women's roles, status, and participation. Entries by specialists run to about 2,000 words are followed by short bibliographies and name and subject indexes. Although the entries give ample attention to historical periods, the major focus rests on modern issues. The treatment of jihad is typical. The concept is traced to its origins in Islamic history and its use in military and spiritual contexts, and the role of women is then discussed within several regional and national contexts. Other articles treat religious or ethnic minorities, including Armenian, Bahá’í, Kurdish, and Zoroastrian women. Otherwise the scope covers a wide range of topics, e.g., divorce and custody, domestic violence, fatwa, honor, hospitality, inheritance, kinship, Islamic and non-Islamic systems of law, modesty discourses, motherwood, political parties and participation, political regimes, political social movements, public office, stereotypes, and women's rights. The premise that the family, not the individual citizen, is the basic unity of Islamic society gives the volume thematic premise that the family, not the indiviudal citizen, is the basic unit of Islamic society gives the volume thematic coherence. Like any multiauthored work, this one has duplication and some imissions. Not all geographical areas are covered for all topics. This work will be used primarily as a reference and a guide to further research for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and specialists. The forthcoming volumes promise the same high quality. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and higher. -- S.M. Estelle-Holmer, Yale University Divinity School.