Oxford LibGuides: Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies: Home

Purpose of this guide

This guide is intended for students and researchers studying aspects of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford, although students and researchers from any field may find it useful.

Use this guide to find out about books and online resources for these areas, including printed collections, ebooks, ejournals and bibliographic databases.


Defining Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies For the purposes of this guide, we are referring to Islamic Studies in relation mainly to the Middle East, and we define the Middle East as comprising the current nations of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. For some topics, or periods our Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies collections may also cover regions which are now part of other states (for example, Islamic Spain), but which nevertheless have historical and cultural ties to the states listed above. For Islamic Studies material relating to other regions of the world please consult the relevant area libguide or the Theology and Religion libguide. We have a separate guide for collections relating to the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Finding books for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies

Oxford has a wide range of ebooks and printed books for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and related subjects. For more detailed info about our book collections visit our books page of this guide.

SOLO
Search SOLO, the University's resource discovery tool, for print and ebooks at Oxford. You can search by author, title or subject and limit to a specific library or online resources.
SOLO user guide
If you need help with SOLO, take a look at this guide for tips on searching, managing results and using your SOLO account.

Key journals

A lot of journals, as well as being available in print, are available online and can be searched via SOLO or eJournals A-Z. Below are a few of the top journals for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies but you can find a longer list on the journals page of this guide.

Der Islam
Journal of the history and culture of the Middle East before the age of modernisation in the 19th century, from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Asia.
Al-Qanṭara
Devoted to the study of classical Islamic civilization up to the 17th century, with special emphasis on Western Islam.
Journal of Arabic Literature
One of the leading journals specializing in the study of Arabic literature, ranging from the pre-Islamic period to the present.
Middle Eastern literatures
Publishes research on all Middle Eastern literatures: Persian, Turkish, post-Biblical and modern Hebrew, Kurdish or Urdu, and regional literatures.
e-Journals A-Z
A full, browsable list of ejournals available at Oxford.
SOLO
Search SOLO, the University's resource discovery tool, for print and ebooks at Oxford. You can search by author, title or subject and limit to a specific library or online resources.

Key databases

Oxford subscribes to many bibliographic databases. They can be used to locate journal articles, conference proceedings, books, patents, images, data and more. You can find some of the key databases for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies below, but take a look at the databases page of this guide for more titles.

Index Islamicus
Alternative name: Index Islamicus Online

A bibliography of books, articles and reviews on Islam and the Muslim world. Compiled and edited by C.H. Bleaney and others and produced in the Library, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online (2007- )
Alternative names: Encyclopaedia of Islam (Third Edition) ; Encyclopeadia of Islam Online ; EI Online ; EI3

The Encyclopaedia of Islam Online (EI Online) is a large-scale collective reference work compiled by prominent scholars, touching on all aspects of Islam from the time of the Prophet to the present day.
The Third Edition of Brill's Encyclopaedia of Islam is an entirely new work, with new articles reflecting the great diversity of current scholarship and developments in methodology. EI3 is a 'work in progress', appearing in regular installments every year. Many of its entries have been completely rewritten from previous editions. Alongside 1400 years of history, the new scope includes comprehensive coverage of Islam in the 20th and 21st Centuries, an even larger geographical scope (worldwide), a stronger focus on history, art, society, and culture, as well as Muslim minorities all over the world.

Databases A-Z
A full, browsable list of Oxford's online databases.
SOLO
Search SOLO, the University's resource discovery tool, for print and ebooks at Oxford. You can search by author, title or subject and limit to a specific library or online resources.

Useful online resources

A listing of free online resources encompassing digitized books and manuscripts, statistics, oral history and more.

Collection Policy

Collection Development Policy for Central Asian, South West Asian and North African Studies

Nizami Ganjavi Subject Librarian (Middle Eastern and Islamic Collections)

Lydia Wright

she/her

Email Me

Contact:

Bodleian Nizami Ganjavi Library, Oxford

+44 (0)1865 278204

Subjects: Eastern Christian Studies, Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern, North African, Central Asian and Caucasian Studies

Related guides

Key libraries

Nizami Ganjavi Library (Bodleian Libraries)
The Bodleian Libraries' main teaching and research library for South West Asian and North African Studies, also housing collections for the study of South Asia and Korea. It is primarily intended to meet the needs of staff and students at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library (Bodleian Libraries)
One of the Bodleian Libraries’ principal research libraries, with collections on archaeology and the ancient world, art and architectural history. It houses collections on Islamic art and architecture as well as material on Sasanian studies.
Weston Library (Bodleian Libraries)
Home of the Bodleian Libraries’ special collections including South West Asian and North African special collections.
Middle East Centre Library and Archive (St Antony's College)
The library specialises in Humanities and Social Science subjects related to Turkey, Iran, Israel, and the Arab countries, covering the late 17th century to present. The Archive includes the papers and photographs of individuals who have lived or served in the Middle East.
The Ferdowsi Library (Wadham College)
A collection of 4,500 books on Persian history, literature, philosophy, theology, science and art.
Kuwait Library (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies)
Holds materials on a comprehensive range of topics relating to Islam and the Islamic world.