ISAM - Center for Islamic Studies

The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam has been Published in Eight Volumes

The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam which has been published in eight volumes after ten years of work by Turkiye Diyanet Foundation Centre for Islamic Studies (ISAM) to reach out the general audience with the accurate knowledge about Islam’s basic principles, concepts, and figures in a comprehensive manner. The Encyclopedia which contains 1426 articles was prepared by the contribution of 180 academics and specialists from various fields. Articles of the Encyclopedia was written briefly and supported with 383 infographics and 353 identity cards which -apart from the articles of prophets and historical figures with insufficient biographical data- were designed for enriching biographic articles.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam aims to serve basic and sound information about the main subjects and concepts of Islamic Scholarship and prophets as well as leading Islamic scholars together with principles of Islam in belief, worship, ethic, and human relations which shows the true path. With all these features, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam is a supplementary resource for school and religious education.

One of the main objectives of publishing the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam is to fulfil the educational need of the muslims who living in societies with various religious and cultural communities. In today’s world, teaching Islam by relying on true sources and in a moderate way to the muslim and non-muslim communities is one of the most important aims of this work.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam covers the principles of Islam, basic problematics of Islamic thought, ethics, worships, halals and harams, rules related with inter-human relations and societal order comprehensively. The terms concerning the five main field of study (Quranic studies, Hadith Studies, Kalam, Fiqh, Tasawwuf) focusing on religious sources consist an important part of the encyclopedia. Prophets whose names are mentioned in Quran, the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the companions of him are covered within the scope this work. Terms related with law, sociology, politics, and economy which inspected under Fiqh also covered within the encyclopedia. For instance, medya (media), iletişim (communication), banka (bank), reklam (advertisement), and spor (spor) was set as unique articles to show the Islam’s approach.

One of the most important aspects that makes the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam important is the infographics that it contains. To make the information more clear, many articles enriched with maps, schemes, chronological lists etc. These infographics may also be used as course material by the instructors.