An Islamic Court in Context An Ethnographic Study of Judicial Reasoning

by Stiles, Erin E.

• ISBN13: 9780230617407
• ISBN10: 0230617409
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This perceptive ethnographic study offers insight into the workings of the contemporary Islamic legal system. Based on fieldwork in Zanzibar, Stiles sheds light on how people understand and use Islamic legal ideas in marital disputes and on the judicial reasoning and litigant activity in Islamic family court. Presenting distinct interpretations, this book shows that Islamic judges (kadhis), clerks, and litigants reason using not only their understandings of Islamic law but also their views of real and ideal marital behavior, local authority, and the court's role in the community. Stiles' account provides a compelling and far-reaching contribution to socio-legal scholarship.

Author Biography

Erin Stiles is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Sacramento.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Note on Translation	p. xi
Glossary of Kiswahili Terms	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Kadhi, Court, and Anthropologist	p. 1
Writing a Case: Court Actors and Court Procedure	p. 31
From Community to Court: Gendered Experience of Divorce	p. 67
A Wily Wife and a Headstrong Husband: Determining Intention	p. 105
Witness and Authority: Elders, Shehas, and Shaykhs	p. 131
Buying Divorce through Khuluu	p. 159
Conclusion: The Court Is a Hospital	p. 189
Notes	p. 199
Bibliography	p. 207
Index	p. 217
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Rewards Program

Currently unavailable