e first edition of this book having been out of print for several years and
frequent inquiries having been made for copies, this new edition has been
prepared and an effort has been made to revise the work in the light of the fresh
materials tha
t have accumulated during the last sixteen years; but I can make no
claim to have made myself acquainted with the whole of the vast literature on
the subject, in upwards of ten different languages, which has been published
during this interval. The growing
interest in Islam and the various branches of
study connected with it, may be estimated from the fact that since 1906 five
periodicals have made their appearance devoted to investi
gations cognate to the
subject
-
matter of the present work, viz.
Revue du M
onde Musulman, publié
e
par La Mission Scientifique du Maroc (
Paris, 1906
-
); Der Islam, Zeitschrift fü
r
Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients (Strassburg, 1910
-
)
; The
Moslem World, a quarterly review of current events, literature, and thought
amon
g Mohammedans, and the progress of Christian Missions in Moslem lands
(London, 1911
-
); Mir Islama (St. Petersburg, 1912
-
); and Die Welt des Islams,
Zeitschrift der deutschen Gesellschaft f
ü
r Islamkunde (Berlin, 1913
—
). The
Christian missionary societies
are also now devoting increased attention to the
subject of Muslim missionary activity and accordingly it&n