Religion Studies: Islam: Law/Jurisprudence

Islam is a one-way street. Non-Muslims can convert to Islam, but Muslims are not allowed to convert from Islam. All schools of sharia specify the death penalty for an adult male Muslim who leaves Islam, and the law imposes many other penalties on apostates. This book is written to raise awareness of Islam's apostasy law and promote the case for its repeal. It looks at apostasy in the Islamic texts, the debate amongst Muslims about the law, and the treatment of converts from Islam today.

Composed in the twelfth century by the leading Muslim jurist Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (1135-97), the original Arabic al-Hidāyah remains a central text of Islamic personal law. This English translation, from a Persian version of the work, was prepared by the orientalist Charles Hamilton (c.1752-92) for the East India Company in 1791. Although since superseded, it remains a fascinating document in the history of colonial jurisprudence. The legal system was central to the entrenchment of British rule in India, providing the framework for active control of civil administration and the courts. Translations of Islamic texts were intended to remove the language barrier for colonial officials, and blurred British and native law for the first time. Hamilton's text is one such, and its dedication to Warren Hastings and lengthy preliminary section outline its purpose and composition. Volume 1 contains sections on zakat (alms), marriage, fosterage, divorce, slavery, and vows.

This classic introduction to Islamic law, traces its development from its origins, through the medieval period, to its place in modern Islam.

This very timely book is both a research resource and suitable for study at tertiary level. As well as classical and Islamic jurisprudence, it covers three apparently controversial, emerging fields of jurisprudence: legal pluralism and the challenges of the development of the rule of law and application of shari'a in Nigeria; philosophy and jurisprudential issues in reproductive health rights; and access to justice in environmental matters. Other issues covered are the meaning and value of jurisprudence; yelationship between law, justice and morality; classical theories of law; characteristics and development of Islamic jurisprudence; sources of law; legal concepts; custom as a source of Islamic law; constitutionalism in Islamic law; human rights and the administration of justice under shari'a; and legal pluralism Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan is an academic lawyer who teaches Comparative Jurisprudence at the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, where he is Deputy Dean of Law and Head of Department of Public Law. He is widely published and serves as resource person/research consultant to several government ministries and parastatals, NGOs, UNICEF, NATCOM-UNESCO, UNEP and ICRC. He is a member of national and international expert working groups on human rights, humanitarian and environmental laws as well as conflict and security law in Africa. He won the 1999-2000 world-wide competitive Hubert Humphrey International Fellowship Award.

In this study of the legal and social condition of Jews and Christians subjected to Islamic rule (the dhimmis), Bat Ye'or examines various religious and historical sources, using the new term dhimmitude to describe their common history and legal status. Some of the laws derive from the special status institutionalized by the Church Fathers for Jews; once Islamized, these laws were incorporated into Muslim jurispudence applicable for Christians and Jews alike. Dhimmitude is thus discussed from the perspective of Muslim theology, and also in regard to Christian attitudes to both Jews and Zionists.

This well-informed book explains, reflects on and analyses Islamic law, not only in the classical legal tradition of Sharia, but also its modern, contemporary context.The book explores the role of Islamic law in secular Western nations and reflects on the legal system of Islam in its classical context as applied in its traditional homeland of the Middle East and also in South East Asia. Written by three leading scholars from three different backgrounds: a Muslim in the Sunni tradition, a Muslim in the Shia tradition, and a non-Muslim woman - the book is not only unique, but also enriched by differing insights into Islamic law.Sir William Blair provides the foreword to a book which acknowledges that Islam continues to play a vital role not just in the Middle East but across the wider world, the discussion on which the authors embark is a crucial one.The book starts with an analysis of the nature of Islamic law, its concepts, meaning and sources, as well as its development in different stages of Islamic history. This is followed by accounts of how Islamic law is being practised today. Key modern institutions are discussed, such as the parliament, judiciary, dar al-ifta, political parties, and other important organizations. It continues by analysing some key concepts in our modern times: nation-state, citizenship, ummah, dhimmah (recognition of the status of certain non-Muslims in Islamic states), and the rule of law. The book investigates how in recent times, more and more fatwas are issued collectively rather than emanating from an individual scholar. The authors then evaluate how Islamic law deals with family matters, economics, crime, property and alternative dispute resolution. Lastly, the book revisits certain contemporary issues of debate in Islamic law such as the burqa, halal food, riba (interest) and apostasy.Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law will become a standard scholarly text on Islamic law. Its wide-ranging coverage will appeal to researchers and students of Islamic law, or Islamic studies in general. Legal practitioners will also be interested in the comparative aspects of Islamic law presented in this book.

Offers comparative historical, anthropological and legal perspectives on the ways in which French and British colonial administrations interacted with the diversity of Islamic legal schools, scholars, and practices in Africa.