by ROBERT REPINO
Since 2009, Oxford Islamic Studies Online (www.oxfordislamicstudies.com) has provided an authoritative, dynamic reference resource, bringing together the best current scholarship in the field for students, scholars, government officials, community groups, and librarians to foster a more accurate and informed understanding of the Islamic world. Oxford Islamic Studies Online features reference content, study guides, and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture, and is regularly updated as new content is commissioned and approved under the guidance of the Editor in Chief, John L. Esposito.
In 2011, OISO began to expand its coverage by recruiting guest editors to oversee articles dealing with particular Muslim communities. These “Regional Spotlights” consist of about a dozen articles of about 2,000 words each addressing major issues: politics, religious practices, economics, women’s and minorities’ rights, geography, arts and culture, major figures, etc. Previous Regional Spotlight editors have included Imtiyaz Yusuf (Southeast Asia), Jørgen Nielsen (Western Europe), Jackie Armijo (China), Benjamin Soares and Rüdiger Seesemann (West Africa).
Our latest focus, scheduled for publication in 2015, is on the region of Jammu and Kashmir, and is edited by Nyla Ali Khan, Visiting Professor at the University of Oklahoma and author, most recently, of The Parchment of Kashmir: History, Society, and Polity, and The Life of a Kashmiri Woman: Dialectic of Resistance and Accommodation.
OISO will also include a featured article by Dr. Khan, along with primary source documents from the region. This will be an ongoing partnership in which we hope to include additional supporting material, including lesson plans and thematic guides that can help scholars and students to access the new content.
(Robert Repino is the Editor at Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314, PHONE: 212-743-8220, FAX: 212-726-6445)