Book: Shari‘a As Discourse.

Shari‘a As Discourse. Legal Traditions and the Encounter with Europe
Ashgate
Published: March 2010 (Price : £60.00 » Online: £54.00)

Edited by Jørgen S. Nielsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Lisbet Christoffersen, University of Roskilde and University of Copenhagen, Denmark

This volume exposes some of the various issues raised in relation to Muslim communities in Europe by putting the intellectual and legal traditions into dialogue. It brings together a number of scholars of Shari‘a and Islamic law with counterparts from the parallel European disciplines of hermeneutics, philosophy and jurisprudence, to explore how the processes of theological-legal thinking have been expressed and are being expressed in a more or less common intellectual framework. It provides a valuable reference for all those interested in exploring how Muslims and non-Muslims view Shari‘a law, looking at ways the European
legal systems can provide some form of accommodation with Muslim customs.

Contents: Preface, Jørgen S. Nielsen and Lisbet Christoffersen; Shari‘a between renewal and tradition, Jørgen S. Nielsen; Part 1 An Encounter of Legal Theories: Clarity or confusion – classical fiqh and the issue of logic, Mona Siddiqui; Demarcating fault-lines within Islam: Muslim modernists and hard-line Islamists engage the Shari'a, Asma Afsaruddin; Islamic jurisprudence and Western legal history, Mark van Hoecke; Is Shari'a law, religion or a combination? European legal discourses on Shari'a, Lisbet Christoffersen; Women, secular and religious laws and traditions: gendered secularization, gendering Shari'a, Hanne Petersen;
Shari'a and Nordic legal contexts, Kjell-Åke Modéer. Part 2 Local Experiences: Shari'a from behind the bench: court culture, judicial culture and a judge-made discourse on Shari'a at a Swedish district court, Matilda Arvidsson; Between God and the Sultana? Legal pluralism in the British Muslim diaspora, Prakash Shah; Shari'a and secularism in France, Manni Crone; Divine law and human understanding – the idea of Shari'a in Saudi Arabia, Dorthe Bramsen; Speaking in His name? Gender, language and religion in the Arab media, Dima Dabbous-Sensenig; Shari'a and the constitutional debate in Egypt, Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen. Part 3 Shari'a and Discourse: Traditions of interpretation within (Protestant) Christian theology as compared with Islam, Mogens Müller; Rebellious women – discourses and texts: Shari'a, civil rights, and penal law, Peter Madsen; Bibliography; Index.

About the Editor: Jørgen S. Nielsen is Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Centre for European Islamic Thought, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lisbet Christoffersen is Associate Professor in Public Law at The University of Roskilde and Professor in Law & Religion, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Reviews:

'Islamic law cannot be left to theologians to ascertain application by state and non-state actors in today's globalising world. Not denying divine supremacy, Muslim legal pluralism (ikhtilaf) remains challenged by various 'secular' legal methodologies today. This excellent book confirms that searching for common principles remains difficult everywhere, but is possible.'
Werner Menski, University of London, UK

'A splendid volume, presenting relations between Islamic and European laws as a non-conflictual encounter of traditions, with discourse as the dominant theme. Theoretical enquiries, in both law and discourse, are superbly combined with rich local experiences, in both Europe and the Arab world. May it calm some of the furies.'
Patrick Glenn, McGill University, Canada

'Bringing together considerations arising from Islamic Law and European Legal contributors, this coherent volume offers valuable solutions for widespread social-legal conflicts faced by Muslims in Europe.'
Mathias Rohe, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany