Shari'a Scripts - A Historical Anthropology (Paperback)

A case study in the textual architecture of the venerable legal and ethical tradition at the center of the Islamic experience, Shari'a Scripts is a work of historical anthropology focused on Yemen in the early twentieth century. There-while colonial regimes, late Ottoman reformers, and early nationalists wrought decisive changes to the legal status of the shari'a, significantly narrowing its sphere of relevance-the Zaydi school of jurisprudence, rooted in highland Yemen for a millennium, still held sway. Brinkley Messick uses the richly varied writings of the Yemeni past to offer a uniquely comprehensive view of the shari'a as a localized and lived phenomenon. Shari'a Scripts reads a wide spectrum of sources in search of a new historical-anthropological perspective on Islamic textual relations. Messick analyzes the shari'a as a local system of texts, distinguishing between theoretical or doctrinal juridical texts (or the "library") and those produced by the shari'a courts and notarial writers (termed the "archive"). Attending to textual form, he closely examines representative books of madrasa instruction; formal opinion-giving by muftis and imams; the structure of court judgments; and the drafting of contracts. Messick's intensive readings of texts are supplemented by retrospective ethnography and oral history based on extensive field research. Further, the book ventures a major methodological contribution by confronting anthropology's longstanding reliance upon the observational and the colloquial. Presenting a new understanding of Islamic legal history, Shari'a Scripts is a groundbreaking examination of the interpretative range and historical insights offered by the anthropologist as reader.

General

Imprint:	Columbia University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	July 2022
Authors:	Brinkley Messick
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 33mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	536
ISBN-13:	978-0-231-17875-4
Categories:	Books > Law > Other areas of law > Islamic law Books > Humanities > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Islam Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Islam Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General
LSN:	0-231-17875-1
Barcode:	9780231178754

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