400 of the 600 articles of the first edition have been dropped, chiefly in the areas of Islamic history, language, literature, and the modern Arabic world, leaving only religion, law, philosophy, art, and science well covered. But for students of these areas, the lexicon offers a solid introduction to its topics, reinforced by select bibliographies accompanying individual articles. Two hundred sixty articles, which are topically further subdivided, afford comprehensive information about Islam.
Every article has references appended for further information.
Included in volume 3 are all Koran texts cited in the encyclopedia, a short timetable of Islamic history, bibliographical references, an extensive keyword index, as well as subject and name indexes. EI should be the first choice for experts and serious readers. About 10,000 entries, written by 250 authors, provide comprehensive knowledge about Jews and Judaism, with emphasis on Bible studies and related fields. It covers basic concepts and definitions of Jewish belief, the history of numerous Jewish communities, as well as the lives and works of prominent Jews. For today's researchers and readers who are interested in the German-Jewish relationship before 1933, this dictionary is an indispensable reference source.