The Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations organised a three-day conference on approaches to knowledge in Muslim contexts from November 14 to 16, 2003. The conference titled, Organising Knowledge: Encyclopaedic Activities in the Pre-Eighteenth Century Muslim World examined encyclopaedias in Muslim scholarly heritage, both as a genre of scholarship and as a manifestation of particular epistemological assumptions. From the conference has come the Institute's first publication, Organising Knowledge: Encyclopeadic Activities in the Pre-Eighteenth Century World, edited by Professor Gerhard Endress and published as a volume of the Brill publication series, Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies. A second conference on encyclopaedic activities in Muslim contexts is being planned for 2007/8.

Why undertake research about encyclopaedic activities in Muslim societies?

Encyclopaedic texts provide insight into the intellectual life and its underlying assumptions in a given age. Many people consider encyclopaedias to be a product of European modernity, particularly of the Enlightenment project. Diderot is often seen as the founder of Encyclopaedic works. However, attempts "to exhibit all science in one body, the attempt to exhibit all science to one mind" can be found in pre-modern cultures as well. Thus one may ask what form of works can be considered encyclopaedic.

Muslim scholars were fascinated by the works of an encyclopaedic nature. The Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa' (circa 9th century), Kitab al-Aghani (10th century), Subh al-a'sha fi sina at al-insha (14th century) and Bihar al - Anwar (17th century) are some examples of this genre from Muslim societies. The mindset underlying such attempts represents a distinct attitude towards knowledge that views it as unified, limited and given for humans to discover.

There is a need for more scholarly work on encyclopaedias in Muslim history. While there are works on individual encyclopaedias, very little work has been done on encyclopaedism as a genre in Muslim societies. The concept of the encyclopaedia, its uses, impact, reception and relationship with social and political conditions are some of the areas that need further exploration. Gradually, encyclopaedias in Muslim history are being studied within the larger context of encyclopaedias in pre-modern period. As an encouraging sign in this regard, we note that the conference on pre-modern encyclopaedic texts held in Groningen, Netherlands in 1996 had three papers on encyclopaedias in Muslim contexts. The AKU-ISMC conference will thus be making a contribution to a significant and growing field of study.

In recent years, Muslim societies have experienced a resurgence of encyclopaedic works. Simultaneously, there has been a flurry of smaller works on law, hadith, prayers and rules of behaviour that have sought to bring together instructions and teachings in accessible language for the masses. These works are fast becoming an accessible source of knowledge and judgement for many Muslims. There is, therefore, a need to understand this resurgence in its proper historical and sociological context and analyse its merits and demerits. A study of approaches to knowledge in Muslim history can help 'decode' many issues that Muslims are grappling with today, shedding light on their attitudes and responses to contemporary ideas.

Conference Overview

In November 2003, the Institute held a conference titled, Organising Knowledge: Encyclopaedic Activities in the Pre-Eighteenth Century Muslim World. The objectives of the conference were to: To explore encyclopaedias in Muslim societies as a scholarly genre.

• To investigate the epistemological assumptions and social arrangements reflecting and shaping encyclopaedic tendencies.
• To explore implications (opportunities as well as challenges) of the prevailing conceptions of knowledge in Muslim contexts.
• To identify areas of further research.

The papers and discussion in the conference focused on the following themes.

Theme I: Concept of Encyclopaedia: The theme grappled with the problem of defining encyclopaedias given the candidacy of a wide array of works in this category. Is it possible to develop a set of defining characteristics to categorize works as encyclopaedic?

Theme II: Forms and Uses of Encyclopaedias: The forms and functions of encyclopaedias are more varied than is implied in their modern conception. This theme considered the various forms that encyclopaedias have taken and the various educational, social and political functions they have served.

Theme III: Epistemology of Encyclopaedic Knowledge: This theme explored the relationship between encyclopaedic activity and views of knowledge in the societies that produce them. It also explored the epistemological continuities and ruptures between pre-modern and contemporary encyclopaedic activities in Muslim societies.

Theme IV: Reception and Transmission of Encyclopaedic Texts: Methods of transmission of individual texts and their reception in changing social and political climates were explored. The impact of the inter-cultural movement of encyclopaedias were examined.

Please click here for conference abstracts.