The World of Islamic Art, Bernard O'Kane, Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2007. pp224, illustrated; Medieval Islamic Medicine, Peter E. Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith, Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2007. pp240, 12 b/w illus Islam produced a glorious cultural and scientific legacy. The World of Islamic Art by Bernard O'Kane outlines how Islam, having originated in the Arabian peninsula, grew so rapidly that within a century it had dominated North Africa as well as the former Christian heartlands of Syria and Anatolia and spread even further eastward. The authors of Medieval Islamic Medicine, by contrast, provide us with salacious anecdotes that will surprise those who think of Islamic culture as uniform or monolithic. In The World of Islamic Art, O'Kane shows that wherever Islam spread, its creations were influenced by local environments and artistic trends, and this book provides a wealth of ornate, often inspirational, examples of painting, jewellery, metalwork, sculpture and architecture. The edifying and useful text is appropriately accompanied by complementary images and captions. From the map on page eight, for example, which shows the locations of major production from the caliphate of Cordoba in the west to the sultanate of Delhi in the east, with communities of believers in Persia, Afghanistan, Central Asia, China and Indonesia, one can appreciate that physical and climatic variations were bound to affect the development of art and architecture. O'Kane makes no attempt to cover it all. Despite the vast span of Islamic civilisation, and the many vivid and ornate examples of its art, craft and architectural production from far-flung areas that might have been included, he chooses to highlight some of the major historical and artistic trends and provides the finest examples of production. This is a main advantage of The World of Islamic Art, which aids understanding of how figural imagery was displaced by calligraphic and geometrical forms and how the sense of the divine in Islam came to be symbolised by the harmonious use of colour, pattern and proportion. The book also points out that, contrary to the generally held view of Islam's prohibition on the representation of living beings, this was never rigidly applied-- as is apparent from oriental miniatures. The World of Islamic Art reveals both the span of the culture, its brilliance, and its diversity. Peter E. Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith's Medieval Islamic Medicine illustrates how Islamic medicine was far superior to Western medicine in mediaeval times, and the methods by which Muslim doctors both adapted and elaborated upon ancient Greek theory regarding ailments and treatment. That is to say, the classical Greek or Hippocratic tradition was transmitted to the Arab world and incorporated into Islamic culture in the 8th to 10th centuries, albeit in modified form. Supernatural or spiritual causes of health or ill-health were excluded, naturalistic elements and forces were accepted, and the Greek medical tradition was used as a basis for innovation, change and development. There is little doubt that a comprehensive study of medical history would contribute greatly to our understanding of Islamic society. However, unfortunately -- because much of the medical literature in primary languages remains unpublished, or is widely dispersed and/or poorly edited -- it is still imperfectly understood. Medieval Islamic Medicine, a compact paperback , does much to remedy this deficiency. Taking a thematic rather than a chronological approach, the authors explore the development of medical practices across the social spectrum, from the urban milieu of Abbasid Baghdad to rural Bedouin society, and from the upper social strata to the lower classes. Drawing on numerous source materials, including those covering surgery, Pormann and Savage- Smith present a fresh approach to the study of the medical profession in Islam, including hospital institutions, the social standing of healers, and doctor-patient relations. They compare some medical theories with actual practices, contrast folkloric and magical medical traditions, and include the mutual influence between the Islamic and Christian worlds. Pormann, who was in Egypt as a visiting researcher at the American University in Cairo when the book was launched at the Cairo Book Fair, said that the scientific heritage of the mediaeval Islamic world transcended the boundaries of country and creed. "Muslims, Christians and Jews, Arabs and non-Arabs, all participated in the development of a medical tradition which was to become the foundation of European university medicine," he said. "In our book we tell the story of this cross- cultural contact, focusing not only on theory but also on the every- day practices of physicians, nurses, and healers of all kinds". By Jill Kamil
