Islamic Texts Society

Islamic Texts Society
Founded 1981
Country of origin United Kingdom
Headquarters location Cambridge
Distribution Worldwide
Key people Al-Ghazali, Martin Lings, Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Gai Eaton
Publication types Books
Nonfiction topics Islam, Islamic legal studies (fiqh), Sufism
Official website www.its.org.uk

The Islamic Texts Society (ITS) is a peer-reviewed, British publishing house which concentrates on academic and general titles on Islam.[1][2] It is registered as an educational charity in the UK.[3] ITS publications have become a family name among English-speaking Muslims worldwide, and a de facto standard in the world of Islamic studies.[4][5]

History

The Islamic Texts Society was founded in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 1981. Western scholarly publishers of Islamic works were at the time characterised by a mostly Orientalist approach. ITS brought together for the first time a true vision of the Islamic scholarly tradition combined with the highest Western editorial and typographic standards.[6]

Since its inception, ITS has worked in collaboration with scholars who are fully conversant with both traditional Islamic learning and with Western academia, including Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Martin Lings, Timothy Winter (Abdal Hakim Murad), Mohammad Hashim Kamali and Eric Ormsby.

Imprints

For a number of years the ITS also had an imprint, Quinta Essentia, focused on symbolism, the arts, and universal spirituality. This has since been transferred to the American publisher Fons Vitae.[7][8][9]

Notable publications

The Islamic Texts Society has published over sixty titles, including the bestselling biography by Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, and key works on Hadith studies, Islamic jurisprudence and Sufism. The long term aim of the Islamic Texts Society is to provide a comprehensive English library on Islam and its various disciplines.[4]

One of the major and best-known projects of the ITS is the "Ghazali Series", aiming to publish in English the most important works of Muhammad Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. Two of its volumes won the British Book Design and Production Award (best general paperback) in 1991 and 1993.[6][8]

Another well-known ITS project is the "Fundamental Rights and Liberties in Islam Series", which includes several groundbreaking studies by Prof. Mohammad Hashim Kamali, a world authority in Shariah and fiqh studies.

Areas of publication

ITS publishes in the following subject areas:

  • Qur'an, sira and hadith
  • Islamic law and jurisprudence
  • The Ghazali Series
  • Translations from the Islamic heritage
  • Monographs on spirituality and Sufism
  • General titles on Islam

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ ITS About page.
  2. ↑ von Schlegell, Barbara R., “Translating Sufism”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 122, number 3, July—September 2002, note 9: “the translations are accurate but it is clear they are intended for a wide, and not necessarily academic, audience”.
  3. ↑ Overview at the UK Charity Commission.
  4. 1 2 Elma Ruth Harder, “Reclaiming the Islamic Intellectual Tradition”, Center for Islam and Science.
  5. ↑ “Stranger Than Fiction”, by Idries Mears, posted 15 May 2013. Archived 16 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. 1 2 “Books on Islam for the West”, a 1993 article in the New Straits Times.
  7. ↑ Mention of QE in the profile of Gray Henry at Circle of One.
  8. 1 2 Mention of awards and Quinta Essentia at Gray Henry's ZoomInfo profile.
  9. ↑ Review of Medicine of the Prophet, by A. H. L. Holdijk, Al-Ahram Weekly, 11–17 May 2000.

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