Shari‘a As Discourse

Jørgen S. Nielsen is Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Centre for European Islamic Thought, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lisbet Christoffersen is Associate Professor in Public Law at The University of Roskilde and Professor in Law & Religion, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

• Chapter 1 Shari‘a Between Renewal and Tradition, S. Nielsen Jørgen; Part 1 An Encounter of Legal Theories; Chapter 2 Clarity or Confusion – Classical Fiqh and the Issue of Logic, Mona Siddiqui; Chapter 3 Demarcating Fault-lines within Islam: Muslim Modernists and Hardline Islamists Engage the Shari‘a, Asma Afsaruddin; Chapter 4 Islamic Jurisprudence and Western Legal History, Mark van Hoecke; Chapter 5 Is Shari‘a Law, Religion or a Combination? European Legal Discourses on Shari‘a, Lisbet Christoffersen; Chapter 6 Women, Secular and Religious Laws and Traditions: Gendered Secularization, Gendering Shari‘a, Hanne Petersen; Chapter 7 Shari‘a and Nordic Legal Contexts, Kjell-Åke Modéer; Part 2 Local Experiences; Chapter 8 Shari‘a from Behind the Bench: Court Culture, Judicial Culture and a Judge-made Discourse on Shari‘a at a Swedish District Court 1 I would like to thank and express my respect for those individuals at the court who have supported me and who helped and took part in this study., Matilda Arvidsson; Chapter 9 Between God and the Sultana? Legal Pluralism in the British Muslim Diaspora, Prakash Shah; Chapter 10 Shari‘a and Secularism in France, Manni Crone; Chapter 11 Divine Law and Human Understanding – The Idea of Shari‘a in Saudi Arabia, Dorthe Bramsen; Chapter 12 Speaking in His Name? Gender, Language and Religion in the Arab Media, Dima Dabbous-Sensenig; Chapter 13 Shari‘a and the Constitutional Debate in Egypt, Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen; Part 3 Shari‘a and Discourse; Chapter 14 Traditions of Interpretation within (Protestant) Christian Theology as Compared with Islam, Mogens Müller; Chapter 15 Rebellious Women – Discourses and Texts: Shari‘a, Civil Rights and Penal Law, Peter Madsen;

'Islamic law cannot be left to theologians to ascertain application by state and non-state actors in today's globalising world. Not denying divine supremacy, Muslim legal pluralism (ikhtilaf) remains challenged by various 'secular' legal methodologies today. This excellent book confirms that searching for common principles remains difficult everywhere, but is possible.' Werner Menski, University of London, UK 'A splendid volume, presenting relations between Islamic and European laws as a non-conflictual encounter of traditions, with discourse as the dominant theme. Theoretical enquiries, in both law and discourse, are superbly combined with rich local experiences, in both Europe and the Arab world. May it calm some of the furies.' Patrick Glenn, McGill University, Canada 'Bringing together considerations arising from Islamic Law and European Legal contributors, this coherent volume offers valuable solutions for widespread social-legal conflicts faced by Muslims in Europe.' Mathias Rohe, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany