Two recent journal articles explore how Islamic law is being defined, debated, and applied in Europe – both by Muslims and by courts.
Maurits S. Berger’s “Understanding Sharia in the West” in the Journal of Law, Religion and State discusses three different “representations” of sharīʿa: “as scholarship, as a set of rules inserted into the modern legal system, and as a slogan.” The article addresses the question, What is the sharīʿa that European Muslims practice? The article differentiates between two Western responses to sharīʿa: political-legal and cultural-religious. The article is available open-access here.
Ian Leigh’s “Religious Adjudication and the European Convention on Human Rights” in the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion focuses on state recognition of religious law. Drawing from the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Molla Sali v. Greece, the article identifies two tests for ensuring compatibility with European values: “the adequacy of judicial scrutiny and voluntariness or consent.” The article is available here.