Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present (Law, Governance, and Development) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9087280572 ISBN 13: 9789087280574

Publisher: Amsterdam University Press, 2011

Synopsis

The aim of Sharia Incorporated is to provide unbiased and contextual information about a topic that has of late been hijacked by politics in the Muslim world as well as in the West. Sharia Incorporated, written by laudable international scholars, is an ambitious study of the incorporation of Islamic law traditions into national legal systems. The book also explores the sensitive topic of 'Western' human rights and other rule of law standards in a Muslim world. It provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sharia in the historical and legal formation of twelve representative Muslim states, with a unique comparison of key issues raised by the 'Islamic awakening' of recent decades. In the preface Jan Michiel Otto goes to the heart of the prevailing environment in which Western discourses tend to oversimplify the substance and effect of Islam and sharia. "Sharia incorporated is essential reading for anyone who seeks a better informed, more nuanced picture of law in Muslim majority countries than we normally get. Without being starry-eyed, the country studies show the complexity of reconciling law with custom, and religious with secular laws. Sometimes violent Puritanism clashes with older forms of religious discourse, market economies affect older ways of life, and modern states struggle to make traditional and modern institutions cohere. If nothing else, this book offers a necessary antidote to glib thinking and ignorant prejudice" Ian Buruma Watch a clarification on the book by Jan Michiel Otto" here.

About this title

About the Author

Isabell Otto is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Her research focuses on the history of knowledge, media participation in digital cultures, and media theory and temporality. Recent publications include: “Prozess und Zeitordnung” (Göttingen, 2020) and „Taking Sides. Theories, Practices, and Cultures of Participation in Dissent” (transcript, 2021).

From the Back Cover

The aim of Sharia Incorporated is to provide unbiased and contextual information about a topic that has of late been hijacked by politics in the West. Sharia Incorporated is an ambitious study of the development and incorporation of sharia and Islamic and customary law traditions into national legal, political, and social state structures. Sharia Incorporated also explores the sensitive topic of 'Western' human rights and rule of law standards in a Muslim world. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sharia in the historical and legal formation of twelve representative Muslim states. In particular, the introduction Jan Michiel Otto goes to the heart of the prevailing environment in which Western discourses tend to oversimplify and misrepresent the substance and effect of Islam and more specifically Sharia. Otto's analysis and the twelve chapters, each written by laudable international scholars of law and anthropology, speak to the origin of Islamic legal trends, providing not only a comprehensive overview but a unique comparison of relevant legal domains and key issues raised by the advent of sharia. It is intended that this wealth of factual information contribute to current international debates on sharia, law, and politics. Jan Michiel Otto is hoogleraar Law and governance in developing countries aan de Universiteit Leiden, en directeur van het Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Development.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9087280572
• ISBN 13: 9789087280574
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 676
• Editor: Otto Jan Michiel