Islamic Law in a Global Context (Online Module)

The Islamic Law in a Global Context option gives students an opportunity to critically analyse the juridicial views of scholars as well as the legal practices of ordinary Muslims within Muslim societies of the contemporary world. This module enables students to make comparisons, through case law, between countries with Muslim minority communities and those in which the majority population are Muslim. Its major aim is to expose students to different visions of law in Islam, its processes or procedures and its roles or functions in Muslim communities. It will allow students to examine critically what is meant by ‘Islamic’ as opposed to ‘Muslim law’, the process of law-making, authority and agency in Islam, how such processes are determined and by whom and how the principles of the Qur ‘an and Sunna in contemporary times have been translated into socially workable rules. The course looks at a variety of selected legal issues involving property disputes, marriage and divorce, Islamic criminal justice, Islamic finance, Islamic philanthropy and women's rights. In relation to the latter, readings will focus on the role of social movements and other factors in bringing about change towards gender mainstreaming of Shari ‘a.

All modules are subject to availability and are subject to change from session to session.

Suggested reading

Werner Menski (2006) ‘Islamic law: God’s law or men’s law?’ pp. 270- 364. In: Comparative law in a global context. Legal systems of Asia and Africa, Second Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Patrick, H Glenn (2007) ‘An Islamic legal tradition: The law of a later revelation, PP 171- 203. In Legal traditions of the world: sustainable diversity in law, Third Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules