Index Islamicus contains 202,961 bibliographic references published in European languages. First printed in 1958, it remains unsurpassed for reasons such as, a) its comprehensive coverage, b) its value for current and historic sources, c) its uniqueness as an electronic index on Islam[1]. Prof. J.D. Pearson, then Librarian, School of Oriental & African Studies, London, published the first volume and its supplements have continued[2]. The importance of European languages is obvious from the relevance that Orientalism has to Islam[3].
Platform & Installation: Index Islamicus on CD‐ROM is Windows based; and a demonstration disk is also available on request. The accompanying User Guide is easy to follow; and online help is available.
Contents: Index Islamicus is searchable as a single unit. It is divided in two databases, viz., Archive File covering 1906‐1980 (78274 records), and Current File 1981‐1997 (124687 records). Topics covered include, architecture, arts, bibliography, economics, education, geography, history, libraries, orientalia, philosophy, politics, sciences, society, theology, travel, etc.
The Index as shown here, may also reflect the publishing patterns on Islam by decade of coverage: 1906 to 1915=3912 (records); 1916‐25=4282; 1926‐35=6501; 1936‐45=5659; 1946‐55=8389; 1956‐65=15768; 1966‐75=22148; 1976‐85=46058; 1986‐95=70550.
Evidently, the literature explosion in the last few decades necessitated intensive and extensive efforts for indexing and developing suitable bibliographical control mechanisms. A quantitative analysis of the contents of the Index, for the 1970s is already done by this reviewer[4].
Evaluation:
- 1.
Currency of information: The contents are indexed within six to 12 months of publication date. The CD‐ROM is updated annually;
- 2.
Comprehensive: It covers most titles in the European languages, includes materials from many other countries. It covers all shades and approaches to Islam, with no exceptions;
- 3.
Reliability: A random check shows it is accurate in data collection.
Search Features: Index Islamicus on CD‐ROM allows simple search, browse, and advanced search features: simple search for novices; browse for displays, for instance in retrieving variants such as mansori, mansouri, mansoory, mansuri; and advanced for experts who can search by author, title, title keywords, free text, year, keywords, subject, source of publication, record type, hypertext, etc. Search by themes is possible, such as, Islamic economics, Islamic banking, Islamic foundation, Aga Khan, women rights, Taj Mahal, Islamization, copyright, dictatorship, Palestine, Israel and Zionism, Middle East peace process, imperialism, Islamic human rights, etc..
Search limitations: Researchers cannot search by languages. Although the index’s speciality lies in languages, a German, for example, cannot find German materials all at once ‐ even using an interactive electronic database![5]. One cannot search by place of publication, publisher, monograph, thesaurus ‐ the classification pattern in printed form, not in CD‐ROM, acts as a relative index[6]. The records also lack abstracts and appropriate keywords.
There are also some typographical errors. Volumes 3 and 4 of The Encyclopaedic Survey of Islamic Culture by Mohamed Taher carry the same volume title. A few errors exist in other fields. Some more proof reading is essential.
Researchers can output records in brief, detailed, customized, standard, or MARC format. They can also print them, save to a file, and bookmark.
Index Islamicus on CD‐ROM should be available in all academic and public libraries. Despite being only a secondary source (not full text) and its language bias, the Index stands as the single largest electronic resource on Islam in the world. Nothing competes in scope and coverage ‐ a few printed indexes are indexing only current literature[7].
Index Islamicus, now an electronic database, can easily be made available on the Internet for use by trillions of Muslims, and others, particularly Islamists, sociologists, historians, area study specialists, biographers, comparative religionists, researchers, students, orientalists, governments and administrators, planners, etc.
Many indexes on the Web are free, including the education database (ERIC), medical literature (MEDLINE), etc. It goes without saying that a unique index, such as, Index Islamicus, needs free and open access. This uploading of the database is possible either by advertisements or by major international Islamic institutions, such as Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah; Islamic University Malaysia, King Faisal Foundation, Riyadh; Aga Khan Chair For Islamic Studies, etc. None had taken up the herculean task which a Western institution took up 50 years ago. At least a funding project for its sustenance on the Internet must be the minimum to be expected from such reputed bodies. This can be taken up by a single institution or as a collective effort.
The Index can add features, such as: a) abstract of each bibliographic record, b) increase Third World’s coverage, and, c) state the physical location of each indexed document in a major library ‐ improving the function of the Index to act as an electronic union catalog of Islam.
