Contents -- Preface -- Part One: Historical Expansion, Political and Religious History -- I. The World of Islam: A Brief Historical Survey (Heribert Busse) -- II. Sunni Islam (Bernd Radtke) -- III. Shiï Islam (Werner Ende) -- IV. Revivalist Movements in Islam from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century and the Role of Islam in Modern History: Anticolonialism and Nationalism (Rudolph Peters) -- V. The Distribution of Muslims throughout the World: Figures and Information on the Present Situation (Peter Heine and Riem Spielhaus) -- Part Two: The Political Role of Islam in the Present -- I. The Intra-Islamic Discussion on a Modern Economic and Social System ( Johannes Reissner) -- II. Islamic Economics in Practice: Interest-Free Financial Management (Volker Nienhaus) -- III. Developments in Law (Hans-Georg Ebert) -- IV. The Status of Islam and Islamic Law in Selected Countries -- V. The Islamic Diaspora: Europe and America -- VI. The Discussion within Islam on Secularism, Democracy, and Human Rights (Alexander Flores) -- VII. The Situation of Women in Islamic Countries (Wiebke Walther) -- VIII. Islamist Groups and Movements (Guido Steinberg and Jan-Peter Hartung) -- IX. Mystical Brotherhoods and Popular Islam (Frederick De Jong) -- X. Sects and Special Groups (Werner Schmucker) -- XI. Islam and Non-Islamic Minorities ( Johanna Pink) -- XII. International Islamic Organizations (Johannes Reissner) -- Part Three: Present-Day Islamic Culture and Civilization -- I. "Orientalistics" and Orientalism (Reinhard Schulze) -- II. Islam and Cultural Self-Assertion (Rotraud Wielandt) -- III. Islam and Local Traditions (Olaf Schumann and Lode Frank Brakel) -- IV. Is There an Islamic Linguistic Sphere? (Otto Jastrow) -- V. Islam Reflected in the Contemporary Literature of Muslim Peoples (Johann Christoph Bürgel).

VI. Contemporary Painting and Graphic Art in the Islamic World (Peter Heine) -- VII. Contemporary "Islamic" Architecture and Representational Art (Mohamed Scharabi) -- Notes -- Bibliography -- About the Authors -- Name Index -- Subject index -- Geographical Index.