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Islamic Studies: Keyword Searching

Selected resources for studying Islam and the diverse perspectives of Muslims.

Glossary

Nation of Islam

African American Muslims 

African Americans—religion—history 

Black Muslims 

Farrakhan, Louis 

Muhammad, Elijah, 1897-1975 

Nation of Islam (Chicago, Ill.) 

X, Malcolm, 1925-1965

 

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Suggested Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) to use as search terms for this topic include:

Arabian Peninsula in Islam  
Arabs and Islam                                
Caliphate                                          
Islamic fundamentalism                    
Islamic modernism                            
Freedom of speech in Islam             
Women in Islam 
Mahdism
Ummah (Islam)
God (Islam)
Cultural pluralism in Islam

 

Spelling Variations

One of the challenges in doing research on Islam is the fact that there are often several spellings for the same word. Transliteration is a term that means changing words from one writing system (in this case Arabic script) into another (in this case the Roman alphabet). Over the years there have been a number of ways that Arabic words have been rendered into English.

Here are some common variations that you should be aware of in developing your Search Strategy:

  • Koran or Qur'an
  • Mohammed or Muhammad or Mahomet [plus several other spellings]
  • Moslem or Muslim

Search Strategy using Keywords

1)    Determine the Key concepts of your topic

2)    Define your key words / search terms

3)    Choose your databases and resources

4)    Formulate the search statement

5)    Refine and focus your results

6)    Evaluate and manage the results

7)    Locate the full articles

(see the finding articles tab above)

Keywords and Sample Questions

Terms and names:

Muslim
Shiite
Sunni
Sufism
Qur’an
Hajj
Adham
Muhammad
Allah
adl

Ahmed, Giasuddin
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad
Al-Rumi, Jalal al-Din
Allah
Allah (hu) akbar
amal
Anno Hegirae
Armenian Genocide
Caliph
Crusades
dervish,
Dome of the Rock
Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Fitr
faqir (fakir)
five pillars
Hadith                        
hajj
haq
Hasbuna Allah
hijra
ihsan
iman
Injil
Islam
Jibril
jihad, greater                
jihad, lesser                
Kaabah                        
Karbala
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Khudai Kitmatgars
Mecca        
Medina
Mernissi, Fatima
minaret
muezzin
Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. Bawa
Muhammad
mujahid
mumin
Muslim
Muslim Brotherhood
Muzaffar, Chandra
Night Journey
Quran
Qutb, Sayyid
Rabia of Basra
Ramadan
rasul
sadaqa
salaam
salat
saum
shahada
Sharia
Shia
shirk
Sufiam
Sunna
Sunni
sura
umma
Wahhabi
zakat

What is the meaning of the common phrase
Allah (hu) akbar? Of the phrase Hasbuna Allah?

Was Muhammad an orphan? Explain.

How did Muhammad get to know his first wife Khadijah?

How did Muhammad come to know Islam?

How did Meccan leaders respond at first to Muhammad's preaching based on his visions?

Why did Muhammad go to Medina?  What did he do there?

What is the principal disagreement between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims?

Why do Muslims insist on reading the Qur'an in Arabic rather than in a translation?

Learn the Five pillars of Islam.  For each pillar, What do Muslims do?  When?  How?