Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Washington embassy hosts
book launch
AMMAN (JT) — The Jordanian embassy in Washington, DC, hosted Dr. Jane MuAuliffe,
dean of Georgetown University, in a special Ramadan book launch for the
publication of the fifth and concluding volume of the Encyclopaedia of the
Koran. Professor McAuliffe served as the general editor of the collection, which
is the first comprehensive, multi-volume reference work on the Muslim scripture
to appear in a Western language, according to an embassy statement.
Over 200 scholars from around the world contributed the approximately 1,000 articles in the five volumes, which discuss the principal persons and themes found in the Koran. The essay-length articles of 10,000 words provide retrospective surveys of the major areas of Koranic studies to date.
Both Muslim and non-Muslim approaches to the holy text are featured, and extensive reference is made to the classical and contemporary Islamic exegetical tradition, the statement said. The event is part of the embassy’s cultural series, organised by the Jordan Information Bureau, which aims to introduce the Washington, DC audience to the different aspects of the socio-political and cultural heritage of Jordan and the wider Arab Muslim world.