An Interview With IDB Director

(Part 1)

The Islamic Data Bank (IDB) was established in 1999 with the aim of providing cultural and scientific services and offering information on Islamic books and various other publications. The IDB comprises several departments, which are involved in a wide range of activities, among which the publication of Islamic Books Quarterly (IBQ) occupies a special place. In order to acquaint the country’s scientific community with the IDB’s activities and in line with our task of information dissemination, we conducted the following interview with the director of IDB, Muhammad Samiei.

IBQ: Please tell us when you first thought of creating such an organization?

S: While finishing my studies for master’s degree in information technology, I happened to notice how in the West the researchers have the latest results of various studies available to them, and how we, by contrast, have done very little, or practically next to nil, in doing the same in the area of Islamic studies. Not only have we failed to avail ourselves of the modern means of information dissemination, but we have even neglected our traditional ones. So, with this in view, I set out to come up with a plan, which culminated in the creation of IDB. After some three months of studies, I finished the plan in May 1999. It seems, if we are to have a comprehensive information system in the filed of Islamics, we first have to identify the characteristics of such a system. Thus, we set about devising practical and expert strategies that were both compatible with the nature of Islamic sciences and took advantage of the new experiences and findings of the modern information technology. This was indeed our terminus a quo. Negotiations were carried out with a number of institutions. Finally, under the auspices of Hujjatulisl?m Shahrist?n?, the head of the office of the great Shiite religious authority, the Grand-Ayatollah S?st?n?, we embarked on our task. The need for the establishment of centers like IDB is quite evident to researchers. Through such centers, the mass of the existing sources of Islamic sources can be organized in manner that would lend itself to easy utilization. If we fail to deliver this information systematically to those who have a need for it, it would surely go to waste.

For hundreds of years, the Islamic scholars have endeavored to elaborate on divine sciences and they have made considerable progress. We possess many valuable works in this area, but where we have failed has been in the retrieval of this information. These works are like precious pearls that are scattered across a vast ocean, where one has to exert enormous effort to get at. The need for easy access to these sources have always been felt. Their lack of organization has made the task of research more of a hunt for relevant material, where 90 percent of a researcher’s time is spent on the collection, rather than the study of them. An ideal situation is where the gathering of material is only 10 percent of the job, and the other 90 percent is devoted to the discovery of new findings, in other words, to the actual task of research. The existence of an efficient information system of Islamic sciences is clear necessity to all the researchers of this field, and I don’t think anyone can dispute the core of the idea.

IBQ: What are the main objectives pursued by your organization?

S: Our ultimate goal is to create a rich databank of the sources and documents that are classified under the rubric of “Islamic studies”. This can be broken down into the following objectives:

1. To furnish scholars with the history of research in a particular field, and to provide guidance through the thicket of the existing data.

2. To showcase a wide spectrum of the latest studies and endeavors by researchers, and, thus, contribute to the various research activities.

3. To prevent useless labor and duplication, and to encourage the culture of research.

4. To present the Islamic studies on an international level, and to have an active presence at international scientific conferences.

5. To make use of international research in the field of Islam and, perhaps, to rectify and enlighten certain views on Islam.

IBQ: Are there any other similar organizations in the country or abroad?

S: There are several information providers in a variety of scientific fields such as the Chemical Abstracts, the Physics Abstracts, the Med Line, the Index Medicus, and the Social Science Abstracts. There are various other information outlets, such as periodicals in England or books published in other countries, but the sources of information on Islam are extremely scarce. The most comprehensive information provider, whose activity is only limited to bibliographical data and which is confined to the works in European languages, is the Index Islamicus, which of course is quite useful. But it has three major drawbacks. First, the field of its coverage only includes the European languages. The second problem is that it merely provides bibliographical information and does not furnish the abstract of the works. Finally, it is not available on the Internet, and only comes in print or on compact disc. Thus, there are no other information providers, whose scope of coverage matches that of the IDB. Although, similar efforts are underway in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, no tangible results have been produced as of yet.

IBQ: What has been accomplished in the way of the establishment of IDB, so far?

S: We’ve done many things, such as procuring the necessary equipment, securing the location for a head office, and the establishment of a branch in Tehran. We’ve also managed to bring together a group of highly competent individuals in the areas of abstracting and bibliography, information and computer science, and translation. The latter will make it possible to post the information on the IDB website in the three languages of English, Arabic, and Persian. So, all in all, we’ve made a very good start. A copy of every new published book in the country is sent to us by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. We also have contracts with several publishers of Islamic texts to showcase their books on our website, and they too send us copies of their latest publications. All these books, in turn, are handed over to our abstracting and bibliography department. Thus, the foundation of our work has been laid in a period of less than a year and I’m hopeful that, God willing, we’ll be able to continue on our path.

IBQ: Considering the variety of the activities taken place on the Internet, don’t you think that what you do is somehow based on the works of others and, thus, a duplication of their efforts?

S: No, I don’t. As I mentioned before, our work is unique and there is no question of repetition. There are various activities in the area of Islamic sciences, but none of them has neither the scope, nor the methodology of our project. Most often, they are focused on a particular area of research and their methods are also narrowly suited to that specific field. For instance, those whose work is concentrated on the Quranic sciences, only collect information that relate to that particular subject and, thus, their research fails to cover other topics and this turns out to be a shortcoming. We, on other hand, collect the sources of a given period and then sort them out according to the subject matter, for instance, we determine if it relates to one of the Quranic sciences, or if it should be categorized under Hadith. Thus, unlike other systems, ours is not likely to overlook any items. In any event, I do not, in any way, think that our work entails any duplication.

IBQ: What is your definition of the Islamic sciences, what sources do you classify as Islamic, and what is your overall field of activity? S: We have a set of directives in which we’ve delineated the field of Islamic sciences. They can be divided into the two following groups. There are those sciences which are Islamic by nature, for example fiqh, Hadith, and the Quranic sciences. These have their roots and origin in Islam. On the other hand, there are other branches of knowledge that exist apart from Islam, for example history. We can conduct a search into a particular aspect of the history of Islam, or we can study the role of Islam in the history of a Muslim country. An example is the study of the Iranian Constitutional Movement, where one can look at the role of the Shiite clergy in the rise and development of that movement. This can be viewed as a part of the history of Islam. On the other hand, the rise of Ataturk to power and his establishment of a secular government in Turkey is not part of the history of Islam, and the sources relating to this subject, although written about the history of an Islamic country, do not come within the IDB’s field of activity. We only consider those works which deal directly with the history of Islam or look at its influence on a Muslim country. The same applies to geography. For instance, the fact that there are two mountain ranges in Iran, named Alborz and Zagros, or the size of the Iranian cities and their populations do not fall within our purview. But the geographical studies relating to the religious cities, shrines, monuments, or the like come within our field of activity. For example, any work written on the history of the holy city of Mecca is considered religious geography. The same goes for social sciences, including economics, sociology, and management. We select those that relate to Islam. For instance, works on the economic system of Islam, or the Islamic banking system, or labor relations in Islam. These are what we at IDB consider Islamic subjects, and others such as wil?yat-i faq?h, the Islamic government, and the foreign relations of the Muslim countries. Also included on our list are works that may not bear directly on Islam, but, nonetheless, are considered part of the heritage of the Islamic culture and civilization. Among such examples are the reprints of al-B?r?n?’s “al-Tamh?d”, the astronomical works of the 12th-14th centuries, and the previously published works in the areas of geometry and mathematics. All these works, whose subjects are not specifically related to the Islamic sciences, will be abstracted and included on our website because of their importance.

IBQ: What is your estimate of the total number of the existing Islamic sources in the world, and their number in Arabic, Persian, English, and other languages?

S: There are no reliable statistics as to the total number of the Islamic sources in the world, so there is no way of giving even a rough estimate. But as far as the works in the European languages are concerned, the Index Islamicus has listed over 200,000 works on Islam published in various European languages, since 1906. The number for the works in Arabic is much more. We are dealing with millions of classical and modern books, treatises, articles, and various other publications throughout the Muslim countries. There also are a large number of valuable works in Persian. We have numerous works about the Indian subcontinent in Urdu and Hindi. There exists a large amount of works on Islam in the Far East as well. So, I cannot really give an exact figure, but I dare say there are millions of works on Islam, which are, by and large, very useful studies.

Unfortunately, due to the weakness of the current information systems, a researcher today has access to less than one percent of these sources, and this is not a viable situation for a system of research that intends to remain in existence.

Our first strategy at IDB has been to bring our databank up to date. Namely, we have given priority to the works that have been published in the current year. As soon as we feel that our databank is up to date, we’ll start working on older sources. This method is dictated by the immensity of the sources, for if we had begun from the other end, we may not have ever reached to the present. Another point is that the works that are written or reissued today have something to say to the present society and their message is of immediate importance, and, thus, they should be given the first priority. So, the contemporary sources can be of great assistance to researchers in various fields of study.

IBQ: Please, tell us about the stages of the work at the IDB.

S: The first step is to determine if a work is within the IBD’s purview. Next, the bibliographical information is registered by the appropriate department. The information is stored on special index cards, which are then turned over to the bibliography department. There the information is sorted out and edited, and additional details relating to the contextual relation between various sources is determined. For example, it is determined if a particular book is written in critique of another one, where the title of the latter is annexed to the corresponding index card. Also it is indicated if an item is a commentary or rebuttal of another work.

Next, the cards are given to the computer department, where they are stored as computer files, which are then made available to the abstracting department. There the information is used as the basis for analytical and descriptive abstracts of up to 200 words. They are written by experts in the six following subjects: the Quranic sciences, Hadith, history, geography, philosophy and theology, fiqh, and social sciences. The last category includes all of the current issues, in addition to ethics and literature.

The abstracts are then controlled for compatibility with the IDB’s abstracting guidelines. They are also edited according to a predetermined standard. Finally, the abstracts are registered in the system and posted on the IDB website.

The finalized abstracts are then referred to the translation and indexing departments. In the former, a group of highly qualified translators, specifically experienced in the area of Islamic texts, produce Arabic and English translations of the abstracts, which are posted on the website after final approval by the chief editors of each corresponding section. As I will explain later, we have compiled a complete set of technical guidelines, which are closely followed by all of our translators. In our process of indexing, we also adhere to a coherent system. Our thesaurus is based on the latest technique, namely, Hypertext Thesaurus, which is in effect the legacy of the Internet and the World Wide Web in the compilation of such glossaries. Our thesaurus is created through an interesting and advanced method, which is also the basis for our indexing system.

In the last stage, a work goes through final editing, namely, its bibliographical data, cover-photograph, and abstract are put together as a single item on the computer, which is then assigned a special mark, indicating that the item is ready for publication and for posting on the IDB website. So, this, in brief, is what happens to a work at the IDB.

IBQ: What is your bibliographical method regarding the Islamic sources?

S: In addition to using standard international systems such as the Anglo-American and other modern methods, the nature of the Islamic sources requires us to, at times, come up with methods of our own in order to devise a better classification of these sources.

In general, we classify the works according to their authors. But there are exceptions. For instance, manuals of hadith are ordinarily indexed according to the name of their compilers, but we have classified them under the name of the Infallibles (`a). For example, Nahj al-Bal?gha is usually indexed under Sayyid Ra»?, but in our system you’ll find it under Imam Ali (‘a). Of course, in the Authors’ Section, there is a note next to the title which indicates that it was compiled by Sayyid Ra»?.

We also indicate the contextual relations between various sources in our bibliographical index files. For example, if a work is a translation, the name of the original work is indicated, or it is determined if it is a commentary or critique of another work. This networking of the information can be of great assistance to scholars, since a researcher who is working on a particular book is able to have access to all of the related material, including the various commentaries, criticisms and other relevant information. This is something that hasn’t been done before and is an IDB Iinnovation.

IBQ: What methods do you follow in the writing of abstracts?

S: The vastness of the material and the limitation of our resources do not allow us to produce very detailed abstracts, since this would be very costly, especially considering the fact that their translation doubles the final cost. Another point is that long abstracts are not very useful to the IDB users. A user faced with a very large number of long abstracts will not find the patience to read them all. For instance, if someone researching into the history of the Quran was faced with 10,000 abstracts, each containing 2,000 words, it would be practically impossible for him to read through them all in order to select his intended item. Of course, he can restrict the field of his search to, for example, the date of publication of a work or its author, title, or subject, in order to bring the number down to say 1,000. But reading through 1,000 detailed abstracts would still be a very time consuming affair. Thus, the huge size of the databank dictates the number of the words in an abstract not to exceed 200. Of course, in the case of important works, such as “al-Ghad?r” or the “al-M?z?n Commentary”, they might go beyond that number. We might even devote more than one abstract to an important work such as “BiE?r al-Anw?r”. In any event, our aim is to write abstracts that would meet the standard criteria.

Our next objective is to write the abstracts in a simple language, namely, we intend them to have a journalistic rather than a technical style. The reason is that these abstracts are to be translated into other languages, and there are no equivalents for many complex Islamic terms, especially in English. So, a simple language not only facilitates the task of translation, but makes the content of the abstracts more comprehensible to the users. Obviously, when a user is presented with a huge amount of abstracts, their language should not distract him from concentrating on his main objective, which is to find the relevant material for his research.

Another point worth mentioning is that in our abstracts we highlight the key words in a special manner. Both on our website and in our publications the words are shown in a black font, where the user is able to search all of the words, including the key words. The highlighting of the key words is a free style indexing system that we have employed along with our thesaurus. In addition to the traditional indexing, which is rather slightly vague, these key words in the body of the texts are presented as in-the-text-descriptions (composite descriptions). In general, we have attempted to bring together a team and set up a system that would process the sources in a speedy way and produce abstracts that would respond to the needs of the researcher who hasn’t seen the original source. In effect, our expert staff member carefully chooses a source and produces an abstract that conveys to the researcher (user) who hasn’t seen the work what research value and characteristics it possesses. As you know, abstracts can be written with many objectives in mind. For example, a blurb on the back of a book cover usually has a commercial purpose. On the other hand, our abstracts are intended as research tools, and present the research value and features of a publication for someone who has not seen the actual work. So, this is a concise account of our abstracting procedure.

IBQ: Do you abstract all of the works you receive?

S: No, we don’t. We only abstract about fifty percent of the sources. The only works that are abstracted are those which are deemed to be of research value to scholars. For instance, a book trying to import an ethical concept, present an Islamic topic, or depict a biography in a fictional framework will not be included on our list. For a book like that, and there are many of them, we suffice by providing the bibliographical data, since the mere mention of its name and subject is sufficient for a researcher to recognize its contents. On the other hand, research-worthy sources, in addition to the bibliographical information, require a detailed account of their characteristics and contents, namely, an abstract. Thus, the only sources that get abstracted are the ones that have a scientific value and would be of help to researchers.

IBQ: What are your guidelines in indexing and making your thesaurus?

S: We use a controlled language in our task of indexing, namely, we don’t arrange the entries freely, but we try to place them within the matrix of a coherent topical tree, so that they would be governed by a logical system. First, we have to design this tree, because there is no such tree that would conform to our methods and intended standards. The existing thesauri of Islamic sciences, first of all, do not cover all the subjects and, secondly, are incompatible with the breadth of our project and the modern tools at our disposal. Online connection with our users calls for a new kind of glossary, namely, the hypertext thesaurus. This is the common form of thesaurus used by Internet sites known as the Search Engines, such as Altavista and Yahoo. This is the kind of thesaurus we need, and it is what we have come up with.

Our thesaurus is designed to be efficient, flexible, and capable of expansion. It can easily accommodate every subject. Its first characteristic is the ability to keep pace with the ever increasing volume of information. As you know, information grows and develops like a living being. Topics of discussion during a certain period become all but forgotten in a span of a few years and give way to new subjects that become the focus of attention by researchers, as the most important topics of the day. The intended thesaurus most be expandable otherwise it will lose its efficiency. The second feature of our thesaurus is its compatibility with the sources. Namely, we create a branch for every new subject that we encounter, thus, there are no hypothetical branches in our thesaurus. This is an important point, since most of the thesauri are designed according to a set of preconceived terms, some of which may never become relevant to the sources at hand. This is not an objective method. We need to see what sources we have and then devote a specific branch for that subject, so that our thesaurus would mirror our sources. For instance, looking at the number of sub-branches of the subject of Quranic sciences will indicate to the user the extent at which the subject has been treated. Or when you are told that there are x number of sources on the history of the Quran, you get an idea of how much work has been devoted to the study of the subject.

The third characteristic is that our indexing is based on our thesaurus, and we try to prevent the entries from becoming very narrow in subject. So we try to confine the average number of entries for each source to one or two and at the most to five or six. Considering the vast number of Islamic sources in existence, it is better to classify each source under its own specialized category and, thus, facilitate the process of retrieval, so that every user’s search would yield relevant and comprehensive results.

IBQ: Thank you for your patient responses and may God grant you success in your endeavors.

S: I also thank you for the opportunity and hope that your readers would get the chance to visit our website and provide us with their feedback.