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AMMAN (JT) — The Jordanian embassy in Washington,
DC, hosted Dr. Jane McAuliffe, 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, organized 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. |
