The Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society provides an examination of the role of Islamic law as it applies in Muslim and non-Muslim societies through legislation, fatwa, court cases, sermons, media, or scholarly debate. It illuminates and analyses the intersection of social, political, economic and cultural contexts in which state actors have turned to Islamic law for legal solutions. Taking a thematic approach, the Research Handbook assesses the application of Islamic law across six key areas: family law and courts; property and business; criminal law and justice; ethics, health and sciences; arts and education; and community and public spheres. Through examination of these themes in over 20 jurisdictions, the Research Handbook serves to demonstrate that Islamic law is adaptable depending on the values of Muslim societies across different times and places. In addition, the Research Handbook highlights how Islamic law has engaged with contemporary issues, looking beyond what is set out in the Qur'an and the Hadith, to examine how Islamic law is applied in societies today.Researchers and scholars with an interest in Islamic law, or the relationship between law and society more generally will find this Research Handbook to be an engaging text. The in-depth analysis, spanning sectors and jurisdictions, will offer new insights and inspire future research.
The Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society provides an examination of the role of Islamic law as it applies in Muslim and non-Muslim societies through legislation, fatwa, court cases, sermons, media, or scholarly debate. It illuminates the intersection of social, political, economic and cultural factors that inform Islamic Law across a number of jurisdictions. Chapters evaluate when and how actors and institutions have turned to Islamic law to address problems faced by societies in Muslim and, in some cases, Western states.
This book examines the challenges of the implementation of Islamic law in Malaysia. Malaysia is a pertinent jurisdiction to explore such challenges given its global focus, colonial history and institutions, and the intersection of the Shari’ah and secularism/multiculturalism. The resultant implementation challenges are underpinned by three factors that make Malaysia an important jurisdiction for those interested in understanding the place of Islamic law in the global context. First, Malaysia is often considered as a model Islamic country. Islamic law is a source of law in Malaysia. The Islamic law legal system in Malaysia operates in parallel with a common law legal system. The two systems of law generally are in harmony with one another. Nevertheless, occasional cross-jurisdictional issues do arise, and when they do, the Malaysian judiciary has been quite efficient in solving them. The Malaysian experience in maintaining such harmony between the two legal systems provides lessons for a number of countries facing such challenges. Second, Malaysia has a developed Shari’ah court system that interprets and applies Islamic law predominantly based on the Shafi’i school of thought. While, for the most part, the approach has been successful, there have been times when the implementation of the law has raised concerns as to the compatibility of Islamic law with modern principles of human rights and common law-based values. Third, there have been cases where Islamic law implementation in Malaysia has gained global attention due to the potential for wider international implications. To do justice to this complex area, the book calls on scholars and practitioners who have the necessary expertise in Islamic law and its implementation. As such, this book provides lessons and direction for other countries that operate a dual system of secular and Islamic laws.
Drawing on a multitude of sources online and offline, in A Bibliography of Islamic Criminal Law Olaf Köndgen offers the most extensive bibliography on Islamic criminal law ever compiled.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px} span.s1 {font: 10.0px Helvetica} This thought-provoking Research Handbook provides a snapshot of current research on natural law theory in ethics, politics and law, showcasing the breadth and diversity of contemporary natural law thought. The Research Handbook on Natural Law Theory examines topics such as foundational figures in Western natural law theory, natural law ideas in a variety of religious and cultural traditions, normative foundations of natural law, as well as issues of law and governance. Featuring contributions by leading international scholars, this Research Handbook offers a valuable resource for scholars in law, philosophy, religious studies and related fields.
Harmonisation of law, a term that refers to the bringing together of two different legal traditions, has developed a negative connotation when considered in the context of Shari’ah and common law. Harmonisation began to be looked at as an attempt by one legal system to impose its values on the other. A major reason for that is the lack of understanding of the scope to which these two legal traditions converge. One of the principal findings of this book is that Shari’ah and common law have many more commonalities than differences. As a result, the need for harmonisation between the two might have been exaggerated. The similarities do not need to be harmonised. Rather, they need to be acknowledged and appreciated. If the differences between Shari’ah and common law, which undoubtedly exist as evidenced in this book, are viewed with an appreciation of the commonalities, the ambiance to reconcile the differences would be more conducive to the harmonisation process. This book is intended to help readers better understand Shari’ah and common law and aid harmonisation efforts when the need arises.
In Muslim countries, apostasy and blasphemy laws are defended on the grounds that they are based on Islamic Shari'a and intended to protect religion. But blasphemy and apostasy laws can be used both to suppress thought and debate and to harass religious minorities, both inside and outside Islam. This book – comprising contributions from Muslim scholars, experts and activists - critically and constructively engages with the theological, historical and legal reasoning behind the most restrictive state laws around the world to open up new ways of thinking. The book focuses on the struggle within Muslim societies in Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia where blasphemy and apostasy laws serve powerful groups to silence dissent and stifle critical thought. The first part of the book covers the development of the law in shifting historical circumstances and surveys the interpretations of Qur'anic verses that seem to affirm freedom of religion. The second part examines the present politics and practices of prosecuting alleged blasphemers and/or apostates in Muslim countries. The third part looks to the future and where reforms of the law could be possible. Debates on Islam and freedom of expression are often cast in polarizing terms of rights versus religion, East versus West. This volume avoids such approaches by bringing together a diverse group of Muslim scholars and activists with the knowledge, commitment and courage to contest repressive interpretations of religion and provide a resource for reclaiming the human rights to freedom of expression and belief.
For almost 30 years, scholars and advocates have been exploring the interaction and potential between the rights and well-being of women and the promise of international law. This collection posits that the next frontier for international law is increasing its relevance, beneficence and impact for women in the developing world, and to deal with a much wider range of issues through a feminist lens.
This volume provides a comprehensive survey of the contemporary study of Islamic law and a critical analysis of its deficiencies. Written by outstanding senior and emerging scholars in their fields, it offers an innovative historiographical examination of the field of Islamic law and an ideal introduction to key personalities and concepts. While capturing the state of contemporary Islamic legal studies by chronicling how far the field has come, the Handbook also explains why certain debates recur and indicates fundamental gaps in our knowledge. Each chapter presents bold new avenues for research and will help readers appreciate the contested nature of key concepts and topics in Islamic law. This Handbook will be a major reference work for scholars and students of Islam and Islamic law for years to come.
This book places context at the core of the Islamic mechanism of iftā’ to better understand the process of issuing fatwās in Muslim and non-Muslim countries, thus highlighting the connection between context and contemporaneity, on one hand, and the adaptable perception of Islamic law, on the other. The practice of iftā’ is one of the most important mechanisms of Islamic law that keeps Islamic thought about ethical and legal issues in harmony with the demands, exigencies and developments of time. This book builds upon the existing body of work related to the practice of iftā’, but takes the discussion beyond the current debates with the intent of unveiling the interaction between Islamic legal methodologies and different environmental contexts. The book specifically addresses the three institutions (Saudi Arabia’s Dār al-Iftā’, Turkey’s Diyanet and America’s FCNA) and their Islamic legal opinions (fatwās) in a comparative framework. This demonstrates the existence of complex and diverse ideas around similar issues within contemporary Islamic legal opinions that is further complicated by the influence of international, social, political, cultural and ideological contexts. The book thus unveils a more complicated range of interactive constituents in the process of the practice of iftā’ and its outputs, fatwās. The work will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of Islamic law, Middle Eastern studies, religion and politics.
This unique two-volume book covers virtually the whole spectrum of international conflict and security law. It proceeds from values protected by international law (Part I), through substantive rules in which these values are embodied (Part II), to international and domestic institutions that enforce the law (Part III). It subsequently deals with current challenges in the application of rules of international conflict and security law (Part IV), and crimes as the most serious violations of those rules (Part V). Finally, in the section on case studies (Part VI), lessons learnt from a number of conflict situations are discussed. Written by an international team of experts representing all the major legal systems of the world, the book is intended as a reference work for students and researchers, domestic and international judges, as well as for legal advisers to governments and international and non-governmental organisations. Sergey Sayapin is Associate Professor and Associate Dean at KIMEP University, School of Law in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Rustam Atadjanov is Assistant Professor at KIMEP University, School of Law in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Umesh Kadam is formerly Additional Professor at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India and Legal Adviser with the International Committee of the Red Cross. Gerhard Kemp is Professor of Law at the University of Derby in the United Kingdom. Nicolás Zambrana-Tévar is Associate Professor at KIMEP University, School of Law in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Noëlle Quénivet is Professor in International Law at the University of the West of England, Bristol Law School in the United Kingdom.
Following 9/11, increased attention has been given to the place of religion in the public sphere. Across the world, Law and Religion has developed as a sub-discipline and scholars have grappled with the meaning and effect of legal texts upon religion. The questions they ask, however, cannot be answered by reference to Law alone therefore their work has increasingly drawn upon work from other disciplines. This Research Handbook assists by providing introductory but provocative essays from experts on a range of concepts, perspectives and theories from other disciplines, which can be used to further Law and Religion scholarship.
