"The Islamic World is a guide to Islamic faith and culture in all its geographical and historical diversity. Written by a distinguished international team of Islamic scholars, it elucidates the history, philosophy and practice of one of the world's great religious traditions. Its grounding in contemporary scholarship makes it an ideal reference source for students and scholars alike." "Edited by Andre Rippin, a leading scholar of Islam, the volume offers insight into all aspects of Muslim life including the Qur'an and law, philosophy, science and technology, art, literature, and film and much else. It explores the concept of an 'Islamic' world: what makes it distinctive and how uniform is that distinctiveness across Muslim geographical regions and through history?"--Jacket.