Observing the Observer

Abstract

This excellent study brings together a number of widely regarded Western scholars of Islam as contributors on the nature and history of Islamic studies in the American academy. This compilation is part of “The State of Islamic Studies in American Universities,” a research project undertaken by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Center for Islam and Public Policy (CIPP) between 2004 and 2007. Its findings were first made available in draft form on IIIT’s website in 2009 (http://iiit.org/iiitftp/ PDF%27s/Islamic-Studies. pdf), where it remains as of writing this review. That draft appears to have been substantially complete, and one wonders why it took three years to remove a chapter and then add a more refined introduction, a short conclusion, and a bibliography. Still, its earlier online availability (free of charge) means that one cannot be too critical of its delayed publication. This volume brings together some major names in Western Islamic studies, including Seyyed Hossein Nasr, John Voll, Farid Esack, and Saba Mahmood, and represents important reflections on the state of the field as an academic endeavor. Ten essays, varying in length from eleven pages to ones almost four times that length, are preceded by a useful introduction and conclusion, both of which concisely summarize noteworthy aspects of each essay and can serve as a valuable overview for the rushed reader. The study includes essays of both a qualitative and quantitative nature, which are generally of high quality. The editors state that they seek to inform the lay reader as well as scholars in the field, but also feel that the “data and analyses […] will be immensely valuable for educational planners and administrators who are interested in strengthening programs of Islamic studies in institutions of higher learning” (p. xxvii). Given the constraints of space, I restrict serious reflection to only a handful of the rich essays ...