Contesting Justice

Ahmed E. Souaiaia is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa and the author of The Function of Orality in Islamic Law and Practices: Verbalizing Meaning.

• IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Legal Absolutism and Ethical RelativismTo Know or Not to Know: The Basis of ActsCognition through Models and Paradigms2. The Domain of Ethics and the LawChronology of Islamic ThoughtEthics, Morality, and the LawDetermining God’s PositionCore and Marginal SanctionsEmotion and Law in the Qur’anic DiscourseThreats, Incentives, and PietyCrime and Punishment3. Basis for the Practice of PolygamyOn the Methodological and Historical AssumptionsMethodological and Disciplinary PrecedencePolygamy in the Historical ContextThe Philology of Polygamy4. Women in Islamic Law of InheritanceThe Qur’anic and Interpretive DichotomyThe Legal and Exegetical Treatment of the Verses on InheritanceWomen, Justice, and Interpretation: The Principle of `AwlExplicitness, Consensus, and InterpretationShares and Heirs in the Comparative ContextShares and Heirs per Blind SurveyDescription of Data CollectionExplanation and Interpretation of Data5. Women in Modern TimesDiscussionLinking Polygamy and Inheritance: Disadvantaging Women by the NumbersDiscussing the Status of WomenOther Contested PerspectivesBespoke Justice versus Tyranny of MajoritismInclusion and Exclusion of WomenConclusionAppendix ATimeline of Scholars and Major FiguresAppendix BGlossary of Key Arabic Terms and Their DerivativesNotesBibliographyIndex

"…[Souaiaia's] ideas are illuminating … his examination of Qur'anic laws, particularly those concerning women, should resonate well in the international community. Moreover, he offers moderate Muslims a refreshing new approach to the sort of interpretations that have traditionally stifled women's advancement." — Religion"Contesting Justice may be appreciated from two points of view. It is, on the one hand, an advocacy piece, an original contribution to Islamic thought … But Justice also includes at least two chapters which, although part of the author's impassioned argument for a new view of Islamic law, also contain material that reveals much about the workings of the classical tradition … [Souaiaia] is surely an intellectual to watch on the North American Muslim scene." — Studies in Religion"Contesting Justice is in many ways a groundbreaking and pioneering study that links discourses pertaining to the nature, origins, development and the scope of Islamic law and practices with the concept of justice as it relates to the legal and economic status of women with special attention to the Islamic laws of polygamy and inheritance … Souaiaia's book is an extremely important study and a major contribution to the literature of Islamic law, legal theory, Islamic hermeneutics, as well as politics, women and gender studies and is recommended highly to all those interested in these disciplines." — Middle East Studies Online Journal"In Contesting Justice, Ahmed Souaiaia offers an innovative examination of the link between social justice and the Islamic interpretive and legal tradition … the author's efforts at combining a theoretical approach and practical methodology are commendable and very welcome efforts for scholars, students, and practitioners of Islamic law and human rights." — Journal of Middle East Women's Studies"There are numerous books published in the U.S. about Islamic law and women in the Muslim world. Many of those books are by people with no language skills, and little familiarity with original sources. Souaiaia has deep familiarity with the original sources in Arabic and Persian. He knows his sources firsthand, and does not treat the subject superficially … this book contains many important and original ideas about Islamic law and the interpretation and classification of texts." — CHOICE "This is the first study I have seen in which the author combines expert knowledge of highly technical aspects of shari`ah, Islamic hermeneutics, human rights, and social justice. Souaiaia speaks with authority to a specialist Islamic scholar, while making his argument and analysis clear and accessible to a general reader. This is an informative and engaging book." — Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Emory University School of Law