Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity

by Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck; Stowasser, Barbara Freyer; Hallaq, Wael B.; Brown, Nathan J.; Sherif, Adel Omar; Skovgaard-Petersen, Jakob; (Fragomen, Nadia Yakoob; Rey, Del; Loewy), Bernsen &; Mir, Amen; Mayer, Ann Elizabeth; Stowasser, Barbara; Abul-Magd, Zeina

• ISBN13: 9780759106703
• ISBN10: 0759106703
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-27
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

Since Europeans first colonized Arab lands in the 19th century, they have been pressing to have the area's indigenous laws and legal systems accord with Western models. Although most Arab states now have national codes of law that reflect Western influence, fierce internal struggles continue over how to interpret Islamic law, particularly in the areas of gender and family. From different geographical and ideological points across the contemporary Arab world, Haddad and Stowasser demonstrate the range of views on just what Islam's legal heritage in the region should be. For either law or religion classes, Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity provides the broad historical overview and particular cases needed to understand this contentious issue. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Islamic Law and the Challenge of Modernity	1	(20)
PART ONE MODERNIZATION AND LEGAL REFORM IN THE ARAB WORLD
CHAPTER ONE Can the Sharia Be Restored?	21	(34)
Wael B. Hallaq
CHAPTER TWO Inscribing the Islamic Sharia in Arab Constitutional Law	55	(26)
Nathan J. Brown and Adel Omar Sherif
CHAPTER THREE A Typology of State Muftis	81	(18)
Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen
CHAPTER FOUR A Contextual Approach to Improving Asylum Law and Practices in the Middle East	99	(34)
Nadia Yakoob and Aimen Mir
PART TWO LEGAL REFORMS AND THE IMPACT ON WOMEN
CHAPTER FIVE Internationalizing the Conversation on Women's Rights: Arab Countries Face the CEDAW Committee	133	(28)
Ann Elizabeth Mayer
CHAPTER SIX Tahlil Marriage in Sharia, Legal Codes, and the Contemporary Fatwa Literature	161	(22)
Barbara Freyer Stowasser and Zeinab Abut-Magd
CHAPTER SEVEN Egyptian Feminism:Trapped in the Identity Debate	183	(30)
Lama Abu-Odeh
CHAPTER EIGHT Muslim Women and Legal Reform: The Case of Jordan and Women's Work	213	(20)
Amira El-Azhary Sonbol
Bibliography	233	(12)
Glossary	245	(6)
Index	251	(10)
About the Contributors	261