Information is power. Industrialized nations control the world simply because they generate and distribute the main raw material and principal product of modern economies: information. Muslim countries depend on western sources for every kind of information: political military, economic, cultural, scientific and technological, social and religious.
Building Information Systems in the Islamic World examines the reasons why Muslims have neglected to develop their own information structures; highlights areas of particular concern, and instances where progress is being made; and charts a course out of the present state of information dependency. Contributors, who are librarians and information professionals from Muslim countries, write in the belief that building realistic information structures that incorporate modern know-how, and at the same time cater for the unique Muslim ethos, forms an essential first step towards development and a healthier destiny for the Islamic world.