Everything from reviews of recent publications and cases to reflections on the book-writing and tenure process for scholars in Islamic law. Junior and senior scholars known in the field of Islamic legal studies are invited to become guest editors of the blog for one-month terms. The posts do not undergo editorial review, and offer room for these scholars to content and context on Islamic law, and more.
Thank you, Katherine Lemons, for joining us as guest blog editor in October. In case you missed her essays, here they are: Beyond Rights and Recognition: Muslim Personal Law in … Continue reading Thank you, Katherine Lemons!
By Katherine Lemons In the preceding essay, I explored how rukhsati cases at the dar ul-qaza (Sharīʿa Court) of the Imarat-e-Sharia illuminate the dynamics of legal change from below. I … Continue reading The Materiality of Everyday Islamic law
By Katherine Lemons If, as I argued in the previous essay, the paradox of minority recognition cannot fully explain the workings of Islamic law or minority politics in India, then … Continue reading Muslim Personal Law as Struggle
By Katherine Lemons In my previous essay, I suggested that Muslim Personal Law (MPL) in postcolonial India functions as a powerful symbol—one that indexes the identity of the Muslim minority … Continue reading Muslim Personal Law as Community Outreach
By Katherine Lemons What do everyday practices of Islamic law reveal about the political lives of minorities? I have returned to this question repeatedly in my research on Muslim communities … Continue reading Beyond Rights and Recognition: Muslim Personal Law in India
Katherine Lemons is Associate Professor of Anthropology at McGill University, where she is also an Associate Member of the Institute of Islamic Studies and the School of Religious Studies. Her … Continue reading Welcome to our October Guest Blogger: Katherine Lemons
Guest Blog Editors Mahmood Kooria, Eirik Hovden, and Mohamed Aidarus Noor.
Thank you, Mahmood Kooria, Eirik Hovden, and Mohamed Aidarus Noor, for joining us as guest blog editor in August. In case you missed their essays, here they are: Standardization of … Continue reading Thank you, Mahmood Kooria, Eirik Hovden, and Mohamed Aidarus Noor!
By Mohamed Aidarus Noor The Swahili coast, with its rich historical, cultural, and religious tapestry, presents a compelling backdrop for analyzing the textual legal practices of the Shāfiʿī school. This … Continue reading Minhāj al-ṭālibīn: The Canon and Fiqh Texts on the Nineteenth-Century Swahili Coast
By Eirik Hovden The Zaydī imāms[1] styled themselves as rulers of all Muslims and upheld that the imamate was the only legitimate form of sovereign government. The Zaydī imamate consisted … Continue reading Sharʿī Legislation in 17th Century Yemen: The Chosen Rules of Imām al-Mutawakkil Ismāʿīl (r. 1054/1644, d. 1087/1676)
By Mahmood Kooria Introduction Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) is one of the most famous intellectuals in Islamic history. His legacy in philosophy, theology, logic, metaphysics, and mysticism has been … Continue reading “If Ghazālī is a Prophet, the Wajīz is His Miracle”: Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s Codification of Shāfiʿī Law
