SOURCE: "Al-Biruni's Approach to the Comparative Study of Indian Culture," in Biruni Symposium, Iran Center, 1976, pp. 27-48.

[In the essay that follows, originally presented at a 1973 symposium, Lawrence studies the "humanistic methodology" employed in al-Bīrūnī's India, a treatise on religious, historical, philosophical and cultural topics, and argues that al-Bīrūnī's elitist presuppositions limit the accuracy and scope of this otherwise monumental and masterful work.]