The American Joumal of Islamic Social SciencedVol. 4, No. 1,1987 127 Review Article Literature About Islam in America: A Survey of Source of Information by Muhammad Tuhir and Siddiq ‘Ali Information explosion is a modern phenomenon. This explosion can be seen in all areas of knowledge. In an attempt to keep track of this growth, secondary sources of information have also mushroomed. Each subject field has its own secondary sources of information. For instance, art has Art Index, education has Education Index, library science has Library Literature. Despite these developments in indexing, and despite the progress in inter- disciplinary studies, internationally in general and American in particular, literature on Islam and Muslims rarely gets the place it deserves. Sources of seeondaq information should be scanned to determine how far they cover in- formation on Islam and Muslims. This would help us to understand the impor- tance given to Islam and Muslims by American writers. A scholar looking for sources of infannation on Islam in the United States is bound to be disappointed. It is surprising that no exhaustive attempt has as yet been made to gather information on Islam in one place. This despite the fact that Islam has emerged as one of the important religions followed by a substantial number of Americans. In addition, the emergence of the Arab and Gulf nations as important centres of economic power in the world has led many Americans to take an interest in Islam and Muslims. As against the neglect by the Americans, the Eumpeans have come out with an index of Islamic literature in European languages entitled Index Islamicus. This com- prehensive work finds no parallel anywhere in the world. As no attempt has been made yet to bring together all the information about Islam available in the United States, it is necessary to look deep into every book, journal, newspaper, film, and tape, etc. It is both surprising and shocking to note a sordid treatment meted out to literature on Islamic Studies. The population of Muslims in the United States is not so negligible as to war- rant such a stepmotherly treatment at the hands of those who are at the helm of The authors respectively, are Assistant Librarian, American Studies Research Centre, Hy- derabad, India, and Lecturer, Depaxtment of English, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. 128 The American Joumal of Islamic Social sCiences/Vol. 4, No. 1,1987 affairs. According to World Almanac 1987 the Muslim inhabitants in the United States are no less than 2 million, and other estimates put the minimum at twice that. It is sad to note that even the highly educated in the United States have a very vague idea of Islam and Muslims. They equate Islam with Khumayni, petro-dollars, oil, and more often than not with Arabs and Arab culture, which may include Arab Christians and Arab Jews. This leads them to think of Islam only in relation to the Gulf war and Arab-Israel conflict. No attempt is made to understand Islamic theology or Islamic philosophy. Regretably, their area of interest is limited to politics alone. Surprisingly if any other aspect of Islam is published it is inadequate, insufficient, and based on fancies more than on facts. In short, the most astonishing misinfonnation or rather most callous misrepresentation of a religious group is given by these writers. It is significant to note that a literature survey of ten years in Humanities Index and Social Science Index - major indexing sources of U. S. periodical literature-under the subject heading Muslims in the United States of America - revealed no articles, and only one book review. It will not be out of place to mention here the failure of authorities to include the information in any American source, viz., indexes, bibliographies, journals, etc., about the proceedings of the First Conference of Muslim Librarians and Information Scientists on “The Organisation and Control of Information for Islamic Research,” held at Purdue University in September, 1982. Indexing and bibliographical agencies have totally neglected such infor- mation. If one cares to think seriously about the possible reasons for this un- pardonable and deliberate neglect, one comes to conclude that the information agencies are either ill-informed, biased, or simply not interested in knowing at all. Yet another instance of this bias is visible in furnishing details about the famous, first native Muslim convert, Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb Having failed to find information on Islam in a standard literature search, we will now examine some American reference sources in order to find out what information they furnish on a religion embraced by one-third of world’s population. (1846-1916). American Reference Books Annual This is an annual publication covering descriptive or evaluative reviews on various American reference books. This source fails to take note of the following reference books: 1) C. L. Geddes: Guide to Reference Booksfor Islamic Studies, 1985. 2 ) 0 . Khalidc Hayderabad State under the Nizams 1724-1948,1986. These two mentioned are only a sample. Many others have not been covered. Muhammad TZhir and Siddiq ‘AWLiterature About Islam in America Sandeen’s American Religion and Philosophy: A Guide to Information Sources, 1978. 129 This covers the historical development of religion in America. Of the total 1639 entries, 5 relate to Black Muslims and none to Islam or Muslims in general. It is surprising that neither the content page nor the subject index mentions anything on Islam or on Muslims. Burr‘s Religion in American Life, 1971. This source provides 5 general references on Islam and 5 references on Black Muslims, covering both literature in books and journals. This coverage is neither adequate nor proportionate compared to literature covered on other religions. Ferm’s Encyclopedia of Religion, 1945. This is a handy volume which gives a brief note on Islam, but strangely provides a “see reference” to the heading, Mohammedanism, for further details on Islam. Both these articles on Islam are written by Paul E. Johnson, who is a Professor of Psychology and History of Religion in Boston Universi- ty. In this age of micro-specialisation of knowledge, there is no reason why services of generalists are taken for writing on Islam when there are many Islamists and scholars who can contribute more authoritatively on this subject. Such employment of generalists is common in many encyclopaedias where the author is assigned the job of commenting on specialised subjects like Islamic sociology, Islamic politics, and Islamic contribution to Science and Technology. Obviously such authors avoid reaching out to original sources and confine themselves to the works of Western authors whose writings are, more than not, biased. Burr’s Critical Bibliography of Religion in America, 1961, 2 v. The first volume of this book provides a good review under the heading Mohammedanism, though it is short and spread over only three pages. This is one and probably the only bibliography that cites works of the first native con- vert, Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb. It needs updating. Gale Research Company’s Encyclopaedia of Associations, I985 This is a valuable source of reference for various societies, their ad- dresses, publications, objectives, names of the Chairman, Secretary, etc. 130 The American Journal of Islamic Social SciencedVol. 4, No. 1,1987 There are in all 17,644 entries, of which only 19 are alloted to Islam, Moham- medanism, and Muslims, although most American cities would have more than this number. New SchaflHerzog Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, 1951, 13 v. and Twentieth Century Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, Supplement, 1955, 2 v. A condensed and modified American encyclopaedia based on German work entitled Real Encyclopaedia, is compiled on the lines of Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, 1924-27. 13 v. Herzog’s source exploited the heading Mohammedanism and not “Islam“ and the article spreads across seven pages. This is written by G. Em. Gilmore, formerly Professor of Biblical History and Comparative Religion, Theological Seminar. This encyclopaedia also contains a detailed article on- mysticism but takes no note of Islamic Sufism. The supplement of the encyclopaedia provides information of Islam and Sufism. Under these headings, articles are contributed by E. E. Calverly, Pro- fessor of Oriental Studies, American University, Egypt, and W. Thomson, Professor of Arabic, Harvard University. This supplement is one of the sources indicating the change in usage of the term Mohammedanism or Muhammedanism to another term, Islam, and Mohammedans to Muslims. In this supplement we find an article on Muslims in the United States. This article, though brief, covers many details like population count with no exact figures about Muslim societies of New York, Brooklyn, Cincinnati. It is sur- prising to note that the figures on Muslim population in the United States are vague. A counter check in the U. S, Census Reports of the year 1960 reveals that there is no mention ofMuslims. It is quite interesting to note that the same source, Census Report, gives every detail on the various denominations and sects of Christians in the United States. Another significant fact about this supplement is that this article is written by a Muslim, Mehmed A. Simsar, Information Specialist, U.S. Information Agency. Fox’s Religion USA: An Inquiry inro Religion and Culture b.y Way of Time Magazine, 1971. This is an interesting study on the place of religion in a news magazine like Time. This book is another specimen of wholesale bias and neglect for whatever stands for Islam or Muslims. It gives no hint about Islam in the in- dex. Scanning of pages, as a last resort, revealed only a reference to the angry Muslims at Baghdad against the Secretary of State, as “emissary of im- perialism and Zionism.” Muhammad T a r and Siddiq ‘Ali/Literatuie About Islam in America Gaynor‘s Dictionary of Mysticism, 1953. 131 This dictionary covers ;he major religions of the world. As regards Islam, it covers in brief only mystic inclinations of Islam. Books in Print, 1983-84; Subject guide, v. 2. This is an annual publication indexing books available in the American market. It is an alphabetical index published in multi volumes, devoting separate volumes for authors, titles, and for subjects. A survey of the heading “Islam” in one volume of the subject guide in- dicates the following: Table 1: Writers on Islam (General) MUSLIMS OTHERS TOTAL 64 108 172 Further analysis revealed that there are 235 titles on Islam, which suggests that few of these writers wrote more than one item. In this case study the “see” references to indirect headings for consulting more material are missing. In order to examine the entire coverage of the subject it is necessary to undertake a comprehensive study of the following material: 1) other headings referred to in the same volume, 2) previous volumes of the Books in Print, 3) other similar indexing tools, like Cumulative Book Index, American Book Publishing Record, etc., and 4) other religious literary sources. Table 11: Writers on Islam (Specific Subjects) MUSLIMS OTHERS TOTAL 123 279 402 Table XI gives yet another breakdown of writers under the heading Islam (in its details, or by specific subjects). Table I and I1 both indicate that authors on this subject are predominantly non-Muslims. Table 111: Year of Publication YEAR 1980 1981 1982 ISLAM (General) ISLAM (Specific Subjects) 15 33 15 73 17 21 (Contd.) 132 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences/Vol. 4, No. I , 1987 YEAR 1983 Date Due Reprints Undated Table 111: Year of Publication fconrd.) ISLAM (General) 1 3 12 28 91 ISLAM (Specific Subjects) 2 €0 1 02 24 1 - Table I11 is only a representative sample of the publications covered in the subject guide, reflecting an analysis of the subject coverage during a four year period. Of these four years, 1981 has the most titles. In this connection it is relevant to note the various types of publications that find place in B o o b in Print, viz in print, date due, and reprints. Date due refers to titles announced to have been published but price and date of release are not indicated. Reprints include all the old books reprinted, irrespective of the date or time gap of the earlier printing. The variety of material therefore creates problems for acquisition and bibliographic control. Further studies can be carried out in the above source to find out the following: 1) geographical coverage: i.e., which states in the United States have more publications and which have less and which have none, 2) periodicity: how many books of the same publisher or same author appear in a given time span, how often books are released on the subjects, and what is the time gap - from the date of publication to the indexing date; and 3) a com- parison of coverage on the subject in Books in Print (BIP) vs. Book Review Digest, or BIP vs. Cumulative Book Digest, or BIP vs. Library of Congress Union Catalogue, etc. Information on any subject is found scattered in sources relevant and ir- relevant. For instance, information on Islam may be located directly in Islamic literature as well as in publications of other religions, and even in anti- religious sources. Analysis of indexes and other reference sources reveals a lack of proper bibliographical c m t d of literature on Islam. If a topic is not indicated in the content page and the index, the user is sure to miss it. Ignorance by an ind- vidual author is excusable. But where agencies and institutions are responsible for woks, their negligence is deplorabIe. Muhammad T f i r and Siddiq ‘AIilLiterature About Idam in America 133 Bibliography American Book Publishing Record. New York, Bowker, 1960. American Reference Books Annual. Littleton, Libraries Unlimited, 1986. Art Index. New York, Wilson, 1929. Book Review Digest. Bronx, Wilson, 1893. Books in Print. New York, Bowker, 1984. Burr, N.R. Critical Bibliography of Religion in America. Princeton, N.J., Princeton Univ. -. Religion in American Life. New York, Appleton, 1971. Cumulative Book Index. New York, Wilson, 1898. Education Index. New York, Wilson, 1929. Press, 1961. 2 v. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. New York: Charles Scribner‘s Sons, 1924-27. Ferrn, V.T.A. Encyclopaedia of Religion. New York: Philosophical Library, 1945. Fox, M. Religion USA: An Inquiry into Religion and Culture by Way of Time Magazine. Dubu- Gale Research Company. Encyclopaedia of Associations, 1985. Detroit, 1984. Gaynor, F. Dictionary of Mysticism. Secaucus, Citadel Press, 1973. que, Listening Press, 1971. Geddes, C. L. Guide to Reference Books for Islamic Studies. Denver, American Institute of Hanck, A., ed. Realencyclopaedia. Gotha, 1853. Humanities Index. Bronx, Wilson, €974. Islamic Studies, 1985. Khididi, 0. Hayderabsid State under the Nizanrs I R4-1948: A Bibliography of monographic Library Literature. Bronx, Wilson, 1921. andperiodical literature. Wichita, Haykrabad Hist. Soc., 1986. Library of Congress and National Union Catalog. Detroit, Gale Researeh Company. 1%9.