Islamic Juridical Vacuum

Jesper Petersen, PhD (2020), is associate professor of history of religion specialized in Islamic studies and Starting Grant research leader on the Non-Muslim Islam project at Copenhagen University, funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark.

• ContentsAcknowledgementsList of Figures and TablesIntroduction1 The Aim of This Book2 Denmark as a Single Case Study of a European Phenomenon3 An Initially Unplanned Study4 On Triangulation5 Ethical Considerations6 Primer on Islamic Legal Terminology7 Remarks on LanguagePart 1: The Theory of the Islamic Juridical Vacuum1 Epistemology and Methodology in the Study of Sharia1 Finding the Object of Study and Asking a Research Question2 Non-Muslims’ Experiencing nikah Captivity3 The Deferred Nature of an Islamic Juridical Performance4 Levels and Location of Sharia Production5 Islamic Semiotic Resources6 Discursivity7 Emotions8 The Operationalization of the Epistemological and Methodological Standpoint2 The Islamic Juridical Vacuum and the Welfare State1 Absence and Presence2 Emergence and Collapse of Presences in the Vacuum3 Demand Projected on to Researchers4 Responding to Demand as a Representative of the Welfare State5 The Epistemic Ceiling6 The Epistemic Community of Presence7 A Field Structured by Demand3 Substructures of the Demand1 Historical Roots of the Vacuum2 Making Islamic Divorce Rules in Diaspora3 Islamized Coercive Control4 Islamized Post-separation Violence5 Honor6 Arranged and Forced nikah7 Honor-Motivated Control8 Getting Closure and the Religious Dimension9 A Vacuum Generated by Women’s AgencyPart 2: The Dynamics of the Islamic Juridical Vacuum4 Women’s Networks and Female Leaders1 Women’s Networks from the Perspective of Male Muslim Leaders2 A Processual Perspective on Amina’s and Nabila’s Practice3 The Significance of Family Support4 Experiences with Male Muslim Leaders5 Polygamy6 A High Demand Uncatered For7 Conclusion5 Islamic Legal Practices in the Islamic Juridical Vacuum1 Becoming a qadi or Mediator2 A Dangerous Pose3 Editing Divorce Documents and Adopting the Pose of qadi4 Demand Co-produces the Rules5 Oscillating Presences6 Geography of the Vacuum7 Erasing Islamic Juridical Performances8 Conclusion6 Political Strategies against Parallel Legal Orders1 The Episteme above and below the Ceiling2 Taking Meaningful Political Action above the Epistemic Ceiling3 Navigating below the Epistemic Ceiling4 The Problem of nikah Captivity UnresolvedPart 3: The Institutionalization of Islamic Divorce Councils7 Until Death Separates Us1 The Formulation of an Islamic Divorce Template2 Until Death Separates Us3 The Practical Details of Islamic Divorce in the Mariam Mosque4 Khankan’s Method5 Women’s Experience of Agency6 Men’s and Families’ Responses7 Security Issues8 Conclusion8 The Islamic Divorce Council1 The Emergence and Collapse of Islamic Divorce Councils2 Planning a Presence3 The Effect of a Stable Presence9 The Imam Ali Mosque1 The marja System2 Shia Islamic Divorce in the Field of Presence3 Shia Islamic Divorce in the Field of Absence4 Transnational PresenceConclusion1 The Vacuum Theory in Condensed Form2 Khidir3 Hidden in Plain SightEpilogueBibliography