Freedom of religion is an issue of universal interest and scope. However, in the last two centuries at least, the philosophical, religious and legal terms of the question have been largely defined in the West. In an increasingly global world, widening our knowledge of this right's roots in different cultural and legal systems becomes a priority. This Handbook seeks to attain this goal through a better understanding of the historical roots and expressions of the right to freedom of religion on the one hand and, on the other, of its theological background in different religious traditions. History and theology provide the setting for the analysis of the politics of freedom of religion, that is, how this right is used in the context of the dialogue/confrontation between countries placed in different cultural regions of the world, and of the legal strategies and tools that have been developed and are employed to protect and foster the right to freedom of religion. Behind these legal and political strategies, there is an ongoing debate about the nature of this right, whose main features are explored in the final section. Global, historical and interdisciplinary in approach, this book studies the new relevance of freedom of religion worldwide and develops suitable categories to analyze and understand the role that freedom of religion can play in managing religious and cultural diversity in our societies. Authored by experts, through the contributions collected in these chapters, scholars and students will be able to broaden and deepen their knowledge of the right to freedom of religion and to develop the ability to go beyond the borders of the different cultural environments in which this right took shape and developed.

The Routledge Course on Media, Legal and Technical Translation: English-Arabic-English is an indispensable and engaging coursebook for university students wishing to develop their English-Arabic-English translation skills in these three text types. Taking a practical approach, the book introduces Arab translation students to common translation strategies in addition to the linguistic, syntactic, and stylistic features of media, legal, and technical texts. This book features texts carefully selected for their technical relevance. The key features include: * comprehensive four chapters covering media, legal, and technical texts, which are of immense importance to Arab translation students; * detailed and clear explanations of the lexical, syntactic, and stylistic features of English and Arabic media, legal, and technical texts; * up-to-date and practical translation examples in both directions offering students actual experiences of professional translators; * authentic texts extracted from various sources to promote students' familiarity with language features and use; * extensive range of exercises following each section of the book to enable students to test and practice the knowledge and skills they developed from reading previous sections; * glossaries following most exercises containing the translation of difficult words; and * a list of recommended readings following each chapter. The easy, practical, and comprehensive approach adopted in the book makes it a must-have coursebook for intermediate and advanced students studying translation between English and Arabic. University instructors and professional translators working on translation between English and Arabic will find this book particularly useful.

The Routledge Course on Media, Legal and Technical Translation: English-Arabic-English is an indispensable and engaging coursebook for university students wishing to develop their English-Arabic-English translation skills in these three text types. Taking a practical approach, the book introduces Arab translation students to common translation strategies in addition to the linguistic, syntactic, and stylistic features of media, legal, and technical texts. This book features texts carefully selected for their technical relevance. The key features include: * comprehensive four chapters covering media, legal, and technical texts, which are of immense importance to Arab translation students; * detailed and clear explanations of the lexical, syntactic, and stylistic features of English and Arabic media, legal, and technical texts; * up-to-date and practical translation examples in both directions offering students actual experiences of professional translators; * authentic texts extracted from various sources to promote students' familiarity with language features and use; * extensive range of exercises following each section of the book to enable students to test and practice the knowledge and skills they developed from reading previous sections; * glossaries following most exercises containing the translation of difficult words; and * a list of recommended readings following each chapter. The easy, practical, and comprehensive approach adopted in the book makes it a must-have coursebook for intermediate and advanced students studying translation between English and Arabic. University instructors and professional translators working on translation between English and Arabic will find this book particularly useful.

* Translation of a prestigious and successful German publication;

The creation of a national school of Islamic law in Indonesia has been on the legal agenda for the past fifty years. This book is a summary of what has been achieved. The material shows us a complex range of references for syariah. These include the formal structures of a "new fiqh," philosophies of law, transmissions of syariah through tertiary curricula and the Friday sermon in mosques, a bureaucratic form for conducting the Hajj, and contemporary debates on syariah values as expressions of public morality. Together these references indicate just how elusive the meaning of syariah has become in contemporary Indonesia.

Written from an ethnographic perspective, this book investigates the socio-legal aspects of Islamic jurisprudence in Gaza-Palestine. It examines the way judges, lawyers and litigants operate with respect to the law and with each other, particularly given their different positions in the power structure within the court and within society at large. The book aims at elucidating ambivalences in the codified statutes that allow the actors to find practical solutions to their (often) legally unresolved problems and to manipulate the law. The book demonstrates that present-day judges are not only confronted with novel questions they have to find an answer to, but, perhaps more importantly, they are confronted with contradictions between the letter of codified law and their own notions of justice. The author reminds us that these notions of justice should not be set a priori; they are socially constructed in particular time and space. Making a substantial contribution to a number of theoretical debates on family law and gender, the book will appeal to both academic and non-academic readers alike.

This book examines the intersection between contemporary International Commercial Arbitration and Shari'a law in order to determine possible tensions that may arise between the two systems. It develops evidentiary and procedural rules under Shari'a, as well as examining the consequences of stipulating qualifications of arbitrators based on gender and/or religion. The author extensively analyses the prohibition against interest (riba) and uncertainty (gharar) under Shari'a and its impact on arbitration agreements, arbitral awards and public policy. The book also explores the prohibition against riba in light of international conventions, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Case studies in the book include the Asian International Arbitration Centre, formerly the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, and the International Islamic Centre for Reconciliation and Arbitration, as well as the 'Shari'a Standards' developed by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, students and practitioners working in the areas of Islamic law and the Islamic finance industry.

Offering a detailed analysis of the structure of authority in Islamic law, this book focuses on the figure of Yahya b. Sharaf al-Nawawi, who is regarded as the chief contributor to the legal tradition known as the Shafi'i madhhab in traditional Muslim sources, named after Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 204/820), the supposed founder of the school of law. Al-Nawawi's legal authority is situated in a context where Muslims demanded to stabilize legal disposition that is consistent with the authority of the madhhab, since in premodern Islamic society, the ruling powers did not produce or promulgate law, as was the case in other, monarchic civilizations. Al-Nawawi's place in the long-term formation of the madhhab is significant for many reasons but for one in particular: his effort in reconciling the two major interpretive communities among the Shafi'ites, i.e., the tariqas of the Iraqians and Khurasanians. This book revisits the history of the Shafi'i school in the pre-Nawawic era and explores its later development in the post-Nawawic period. Presenting a comprehensive picture of the structure of authority in Islamic law, specifically within the Shafi'ite legal tradition, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars of Islamic Studies, History and Law.

In the past two decades, Muslim countries across the globe have been faced with a crisis in governance. Starting with a summary of Islamic Law (Sharia) and its implications for law enforcement, this book will highlight the unique needs and challenges of law enforcement, and particularly policing, in these communities. It will provide a scholarly exposition of Sharia law and how it is compatible (or not) with policing in a modern context. The role and contribution of Sharia Law towards conceptualizing law enforcement in a modern context is certainly worth looking forward to, especially understanding its co-existence with civil law in countries with minority Muslim communities. Featuring case studies from throughout the Muslim world, this volume will highlight key qualities of Sharia law and Muslim culture that play a role in law enforcement, including: case processing, community policing, police administration, human rights, and the influence of globalization. Taking a comprehensive approach, this work provides a historical context for colonization events in Muslim countries and their influence on current law enforcement systems, as well as providing key insights into the particular norms that make up the bases for Muslim societies, and their unique needs. Looking into the future, it provides guidelines for how community policing can play a proactive role in law enforcement and crime prevention.

Understanding Islamic law is crucial not only for Muslims, but for non-Muslims who work with Muslims in legal contexts as well as for anyone wanting to understand the role of Islam in the world today. For unlike western legal systems where religious and legal spheres are kept separate, Islamic law is all-encompassing, directing all human actions. Legal scholar Hisham Ramadan brings together articles to give an excellent overview of the formation of Islamic law and its role in contemporary Islamic and Non-Islamic states. Following an overview of Islamic Law, chapters cover Islamic criminal law, International Humanitarian Law, contract law, & family law. A concluding essay offers an explanation of the legal value of Islam and appendices include original Islamic legal documents from Muhammad's time until today.

Passed into law over a decade before the Revolution, the Family Protection Law quickly drew the ire of the conservative clergy and the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. In fact, it was one of the first laws to be rescinded following the revolution. The law was hardly a surprising target, however, since women's status in Iran was then - and continues now to be - a central concern of Iranian political leaders, media commentators, and international observers alike. Taking up the issue of women's status in a modern context, Marianne Boe offers a nuanced view of how women's rights activists assert their rights within an Islamic context by weaving together religious and historical texts and narratives. Through Her substantial fieldwork and novel analysis, Boe undermines both the traditional view of 'Islamic Feminism' as monolithic and clears a path to a new understanding of the role of women's rights activists in shaping and synthesizing debates on the shari'a, women's rights and family law. As such, this book is essential for anyone studying family law and the role of women in contemporary Iran.

During the 20th century many countries embarked on a process of constitutional secularization by which the role of religion gradually became limited. Yet, by the late 20th century, and increasingly following the end of the Cold War, this development began to be challenged. This book examines the return of religion in constitutions through the concept of constitutional de-secularization. It places this phenomenon in the context of the constitutional memory of the countries in which it has taken place and critically examines it against the development and standards of constitutionalism, as the prevailing constitutional legal and political theory. Central to this analysis is the impact of constitutional de-secularization on the regulation of equality in liberty, that is, both the regulation of constitutional rights and the scope for equality of those who are granted such rights. The book argues that equal liberty forms an essential part of constitutionalism as a theory, and that constitutionalism therefore entails a continuous development towards expanding it. The first and second part of the book presents a conceptual framework for the study of constitutional de-secularization. The third part presents and analyses three cases of constitutional de-secularization in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. The book will be of interest to researchers and policy-makers interested in constitutional history and theory, and the role of religion in law and its compatibility with human rights.

The family is where legal rules presented as part of the Islamic shari`a are most widely applied in the Muslim world. This connection, often differently elaborated by particular social constituencies, can present difficulties to the advocates of law reform. At the same time, the resonance of the issues at which advocacy is targeted creates an opportunity for creative exchange in addressing practical strategies for change. This volume explores the present-day realities of Islamic family law, with particular emphasis on the rights of women, and focusing on law in its living social context as reflected in public opinion and personal experience. A concluding study ranges further afield in order to explore the challenges and potential of 'principles of shari`a' in advocacy on the question of violence against women. This book makes possible a detailed examination of possibilities of, and constraints on, legal reform in the area of Islamic family law in specific contemporary contexts.

The book ties together much of the existing work on the history of oil and gas regulation in Iran and builds on that foundation to propose a coherent and balanced approach within the framework of the NCC.

At the time of his death in 1998, at the age of 47, Norman Calder had become the most widely-discussed scholar in his field. This was largely focused on his monograph, Studies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence (Oxford, 1993), which boldly challenged existing theories about the origins of Islamic Law. The present volume of twenty-one of his articles and book chapters represents the full richness and diversity of Calder's oeuvre, from his initial doctoral research on Shii Islam to his later more philosophical writings on Sunni hermeneutics, in addition to his numerous studies on early Islamic history and jurisprudence. Calder's pioneering research, which was based on a sensitive reading of medieval texts fully informed by contemporary critical theory, often challenged the established assumptions of the day. He is known in particular for urging a reassessment of widely-held prejudices which underestimated the degree of creativity in medieval Islamic scholarship. Many of the articles in this volume have already become classics for the fields of Muslim jurisprudence and hermeneutics.

In the post-9/11 environment, the figure of the Muslim woman is at the forefront of global politics. Her representation is often articulated within a rights discourse owing much to liberal-secular sensibilities-notions of freedom, equality, rational thinking, individualism, and modernization. Muslim Women's Rights explores how these liberal-secular sensibilities inform, shape, and foreclose public discussion on questions of Islam and gender. The book draws on postcolonial, antiracist, and transnational feminist studies in order to analyze public and legal debates surrounding proposed shari'ah tribunals in Canada. It examines the cultural and epistemological suppositions underlying common assumptions about Islamic laws; explores how these assumptions are informed by the Western progress narrative and women's rights debates; and asks what forms of politics these enable and foreclose. The book assesses the influence of secularism on the ontology, epistemology, and ethics afforded to Islam in the West, and begins to trace possibilities by which Islamic family law might be productively addressed on its own terms. Muslim Women's Rights is a significant contribution to the fields of both Islam and gender and the critical study of secularism.

This book sets forth the concepts relating to viewpoints concerning life. It identifies the principle behind these concepts and traces each such concept back to its source and origin, whether it emanates from the capitalist-democratic, communist-socialist, or Islamic principle. At the same time, it calls on people to establish bonds with one another, that is, intellectual bonds based on common principles. It also calls on them to distinguish one concept from another so that they can achieve the correct type of advancement and attain the exemplary ideology. First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The book contributes to understanding the role of religion in the development of democracy in Indonesia - the world's largest Muslim nation.

This book examines the life of women in the Indonesian province of Aceh, where Islamic law was introduced in 1999. It outlines how women have had to face the formalisation of conservative understandings of sharia law in regulations and new state institutions over the last decade or so, how they have responded to this, forming non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have shaped local discourse on women's rights, equality and status in Islam, and how these NGOs have strategised, demanded reform, and enabled Acehnese women to take active roles in influencing the processes of democratisation and Islamisation that are shaping the province. The book shows that although the formal introduction of Islamic law in Aceh has placed restrictions on women's freedom, paradoxically it has not prevented them from engaging in public life. It argues that the democratisation of Indonesia, which allowed Islamisation to occur, continues to act as an important factor shaping Islamisation's current trajectory; that the introduction of Islamic law has motivated women's NGOs and other elements of civil society to become more involved in wider discussions about the future of sharia in Aceh; and that Indonesia's recent decentralisation policy and growing local Islamism have enabled the emergence of different religious and local adat practices, which do not necessarily correspond to overall national trends.

This book looks at fatwa in Indonesia during the period following the fall of President Suharto. It is an in-depth exploration of three fatwa-making agencies-Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Lajnah Bahth al-Masail Nahdlatul Ulama, and Majelis Tarjih Muhammadiyah-all of which are highly influential in shaping religious thought and the lives of Muslims in Indonesia. Rather than look at all the fatwa that have emerged in the period, Pradana Boy ZTF focuses on those that have strong repercussions for intra-community relations and the development of Indonesian Muslims more generally, including fatwa pertaining to sectarianism, pluralism, secularism and liberalism.

Lawyers, according to Edmund Burke, are bad historians. He was referring to an unwillingness, rather than an inaptitude, on the part of early nineteenth-century English lawyers to concern themselves with the past: for contemporary jurisprudence was a pure and isolated science wherein law appeared as a body of rules, based upon objective criteria, whose nature and very existence were independent of considerations of time and place. Despite the influence of the historical school of Western jurisprudence, Burke's observation is generally valid for Middle East studies. Muslim jurisprudence in its traditional form provides an extreme example of a legal science divorced from historical considerations. Law, in classical Islamic theory, is the revealed will of God, a divinely ordained system preceding, and not preceded by, the Muslim state controlling, but not controlled by, Muslim society. There can thus be no relativistic notion of the law itself evolving as an historical phenomenon closely tied with the progress of society. The increasing number of nations that are largely Muslim or have a Muslim head of state, emphasizes the growing political importance of the Islamic world, and, as a result, the desirability of extending and expanding the understanding and appreciation of their culture and belief systems. Since history counts for much among Muslims and what happened in 632 or 656 is still a live issue, a journalistic familiarity with present conditions is not enough; there must also be some awareness of how the past has molded the present. This book is designed to give the reader a clear picture. But where there are gaps, obscurities, and differences of opinion, these are also indicated.

A unique collection of studies, the present volume sheds new light on central themes of Ibn Taymiyya's (661/1263-728/1328) and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's (691/1292-751/1350) thought and the relevance of their ideas to diverse Muslim societies. Investigating their positions in Islamic theology, philosophy and law, the contributions discuss a wide range of subjects, e.g. law and order; the divine compulsion of human beings; the eternity of eschatological punishment; the treatment of Sufi terminology; and the proper Islamic attitude towards Christianity. Notably, a section of the book is dedicated to analyzing Ibn Taymiyya's struggle for and against reason as well as his image as a philosopher in contemporary Islamic thought. Several articles present the influential legacy of both thinkers in shaping an Islamic discourse facing the challenges of modernity. This volume will be especially useful for students and scholars of Islamic studies, philosophy, sociology, theology, and history of ideas.

This book focuses on Islamic family law as interpreted and applied by judges in Europe, Australia and North America. It uses court transcriptions and observations to discuss how the most contentious marriage-related issues - consent and age of spouses, dower, polygamy, and divorce - are adjudicated. The solutions proposed by different legal systems are reviewed , and some broader questions are addressed: how Islamic principles are harmonized with norms based on gender equality, how parties bargain strategically in and out of court, and how Muslim diasporas align their Islamic worldview with a Western normative narrative.

This book examines the interrelationship between law, culture, patriarchy and religion in the context of contemporary Bangladesh. It explores the role of Islam in society and politics generally, and its influence on gender equality in particular. The work focuses on the situation of married women. Taking a socio-legal approach, it analyses the changing nature of the dowry practice and its relation to women's increasing paid labour force activity. Despite anti-dowry legislation, it is argued here that the dowry system continues in the form of the appropriation of wives' income. The work calls for legal recognition of this action and the amendment of the Dowry Prohibition Act 1980 as a result of the changing social realities that are taking place in the lives of Bangladeshi women. An Islamic approach is applied to equality between men and women in addressing and analysing these issues. The book includes international comparisons on gender equality and discusses the role of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Descrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as the dowry system in South Asia. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of law and religion, gender studies and international development.

Der Band enthalt die auf der Jahrestagung der "Gesellschaft fur Arabisches und Islamisches Recht" (GAIR) im Oktober 2015 an der Universitat Goettingen gehaltenen Vortrage. Thema der Tagung war "Genderforschung und Genderfragen im islamischen Recht". Die Vortrage werden erganzt um zwei weitere, themenrelevante Fachbeitrage. Die Autoren gehen in den Beitragen zum einen der Frage nach, welche Rolle und Bedeutung die Geschlechterforschung im Recht hat. Zum anderen wird anhand empirischer Beispiele die Geschlechterstellung im deutschen Recht und im islamischen Recht - in Deutschland und in der muslimischen Welt - definiert und diskutiert.