This book investigates the pronounced enthusiasm that many traditions display for codes of ethics characterised by a multitude of rules. Recent anthropological interest in ethics and historical explorations of 'self-fashioning' have led to extensive study of the virtuous self, but existing scholarship tends to pass over the kind of morality that involves legalistic reasoning. Rules and ethics corrects that omission by demonstrating the importance of rules in everyday moral life in a variety of contexts. In a nutshell, it argues that legalistic moral rules are not necessarily an obstruction to a rounded ethical self, but can be an integral part of it. An extended introduction first sets out the theoretical basis for studies of ethical systems that are characterised by detailed rules. This is followed by a series of empirical studies of rule-oriented moral traditions in a comparative perspective. -- .

What might we learn if the study of ethics focused less on hard cases and more on the practices of everyday life? In Everyday Ethics, Michael Lamb and Brian Williams gather some of the world’s leading scholars and practitioners of moral theology (including some GUP authors) to explore that question in dialogue with anthropology and the social sciences. Inspired by the work of Michael Banner, these scholars cross disciplinary boundaries to analyze the ethics of ordinary practices—from eating, learning, and loving thy neighbor to borrowing and spending, using technology, and working in a flexible economy. Along the way, they consider the moral and methodological questions that emerge from this interdisciplinary dialogue and assess the implications for the future of moral theology.

Clarke engages in a thorough and captivating assessment of the numerous fatwas issued in the context of global Islamic legal scholarship concerning medical ethics, in particular, medically assisted conception . . . This book will be of considerable interest to scholars in the areas of gender and health, reproduction and reproductive technologies, Islamicists, and those engaged in comparative kinship studies. Cont Islam

The book is theoretically sophisticated, beautifully written, and brilliantly cohesive . . . Most admirable is the endeavour to analyse the perspectives revealed "on their own terms" within the societies that produce them. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

A] fascinating and well-written book . . . By thinking through anthropological and Islamic debates of assisted conception in a Middle Eastern setting, Islam and New Kinship is highly valuable for students and scholars interested in medical anthropology, kinship studies, Middle Eastern studies, as well as science and technology studies. Social Anthropology

In this very detailed examination . . . Clarke presents a nuanced look at how both individuals and institutions interpret or manipulate Islamic teachings and concepts . . . the book represents an outstanding piece of scholarship for anyone interested in Islam, kinship, medical anthropology, or gender studies. Highly recommended. Choice

This book is a mine of information, carefully researched and lucidly argued. It opens up a fascinating problematic (that is, a can of worms) that only Muslims (all Muslims, male and female) need seriously to address over the coming decades. The shape of future Muslim attitudes depends on the outcomes of this. Journal of Beliefs and Values

An accomplished piece of work on several levels. Islam and New Kinship not only provides a detailed and nuanced account of how Islamic legal scholars and medical practitioners in Lebanon respond to new reproductive and genetic technologies, but also reveals what is missing from 'new' kinship studies. It is a compelling read and a must, not only for scholars of kinship and religion but for anybody with an interest in the rich complexity of contemporary Lebanese society. Jeannette Edwards, University of Manchester

"Islam and New Kinship presents a thoughtful and nuanced analysis of Islamic legal responses to issues raised by assisted reproductive technologies...Clarke engages in a thorough and captivating assessment of the numerous fatwas issued in the context of global Islamic legal scholarship concerning medical ethics, in particular, medically assisted conception...This book will be of considerable interest to scholars in the areas of gender and health, reproduction and reproductive technologies, Islamicists, and those engaged in comparative kinship studies. It would be a valuable and effective text for use in seminars and most appropriate for graduate students or advanced (honors) undergraduates." . Cont Islam

..".a fascinating and well-written book...By thinking through anthropological and Islamic debates of assisted conception in a Middle Eastern setting, Islam and New Kinship is highly valuable for students and scholars interested in medical anthropology, kinship studies, Middle Eastern studies, as well as science and technology studies." . Social Anthropology/Anthropologie sociale

"In this very detailed examination... Clarke presents a nuanced look at how both individuals and institutions interpret or manipulate Islamic teachings and concepts...the book represents an outstanding piece of scholarship for anyone interested in Islam, kinship, medical anthropology, or gender studies. Highly recommended." . Choice

"This book is a mine of information, carefully researched and lucidly argued. It opens up a fascinating problematic (that is, a can of worms) that only Muslims (all Muslims, male and female) need seriously to address over the coming decades. The shape of future Muslim attitudes depends on the outcomes of this." . Journal of Beliefs and Values

"An accomplished piece of work on several levels. Islam and New Kinship not only provides a detailed and nuanced account of how Islamic legal scholars and medical practitioners in Lebanon respond to new reproductive and genetic technologies, but also reveals what is missing from 'new' kinship studies. It is a compelling read and a must, not only for scholars of kinship and religion but for anybody with an interest in the rich complexity of contemporary Lebanese society." . Jeannette Edwards, University of Manchester

Assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization have provoked global controversy and ethical debate. This book provides a groundbreaking investigation into those debates in the Islamic Middle East, simultaneously documenting changing ideas of kinship and the evolving role of religious authority in the region through a combination of in-depth field research in Lebanon and an exhaustive survey of the Islamic legal literature. Lebanon, home to both Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities, provides a valuable site through which to explore the overall dynamism and diversity of global Islamic debate. As this book shows, Muslim perspectives focus on the moral propriety of such controversial procedures as the use of donor sperm and eggs as well as surrogacy arrangements, which are allowed by some authorities using surprising and innovative legal arguments. These arguments challenge common stereotypes of the rigidity and conservatism of Islamic law and compel us to question conventional contrasts between 'liberal' and Islamic notions of moral freedom, as well as the epistemological assumptions of anthropology's own 'new kinship studies'. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary Islam and the impact of reproductive technology on the global social imaginary.

Morgan Clarke completed his doctorate at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford, and is now a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge."

The modern state of Lebanon, created after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, is home to eighteen officially recognised different religious communities (or sects). Crucially, political office and representation came to be formally shared along confessional lines, and the privileges of power are distributed accordingly. One such key prerogative is exclusivity when it comes to personal status laws: the family legal affairs of each community. In this book, Morgan Clarke offers an authoritative and dynamic account of how the sharia is invoked both with Lebanon's state legal system, as Muslim family law, and outside it, as a framework for an Islamic life and society. By bringing together an in-depth analysis of Lebanon's state-sponsored sharia courts with a look at the wider world of religious instruction, this book highlights the breadth of the sharia and the complexity of the contexts within which it is embedded.