One out of five people in the world today lives subject to Islamic law, but stereotypes of rigid doctrine or harsh punishment obscure an understanding of the values and style of reasoning that characterize everyday lslamic adjudication. By considering its larger social and cultural context Islamic law is shown to be a kind of common law system: justice is sought through a careful assessment of persons, more than facts, and justice resides not in equality but in a quest for equivalence. Through ordinary court proceedings the style of reasoning is seen to be embedded in a set of cultural assumptions, thus rendering the study of Islamic legal proceedings a window on Muslim society generally. Using data ranging from the courts of North Africa to the treatment of Islam in American courts, from a reinterpretation of the Prophet's sociological jurisprudence to the analysis of Islamic concepts of responsibility and trust these essays demonstrate the enduring appeal of Islamic law in the lives of everyday adherents.
Niklas Luhmann, Niklas Luhmann was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Bielefeld University) Luhmann, Niklas (, Prior to his death in 1998, Fatima Kastner, Richard Nobles, University of Hamburg Institute of Social Sciences) Kastner, Fatima (Associate Lecturer, London School of Economics and Political Science) Nobles, Richard (Reader in Law
Ian Ayres, John Braithwaite, Stanford University) Ayres, Ian (Research Fellow, American Bar Foundation and Professor of Law, Research Fellow, American Bar Foundation and Professor of Law, American Bar Foundation) Braithwaite, John (Professorial Fellow in the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University; Visiting Fellow, American Bar Foundation, Professorial Fellow in the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University; Visiting Fellow
Ian Ayres, John Braithwaite, Stanford University) Ayres, Ian (Research Fellow, American Bar Foundation and Professor of Law, Research Fellow, American Bar Foundation and Professor of Law, American Bar Foundation) Braithwaite, John (Professorial Fellow in the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University; Visiting Fellow, American Bar Foundation, Professorial Fellow in the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University; Visiting Fellow
Mary E. Vogel, Santa Barbara) Vogel, Mary E. (Visiting Assistant Professor, Law and Society Program, Visiting Assistant Professor, Law and Society Program, University of California, VOGEL, Vogel
Mary E. Vogel, Santa Barbara) Vogel, Mary E. (Visiting Assistant Professor, Law and Society Program, Visiting Assistant Professor, Law and Society Program, University of California
Lawrence Rosen, Professor and Chair of Anthropology at Princeton University) Rosen, Lawrence (Professor and Chair of Anthropology at Princeton University
Keith Hawkins, University of Oxford) Hawkins, Keith (Reader in Law and Society, and Fellow and Tutor in Law, Reader in Law and Society, and Fellow and Tutor in Law, Oriel College
Mary E. Vogel, Santa Barbara) Vogel, Mary E. (Visiting Assistant Professor, Law and Society Program, Visiting Assistant Professor, Law and Society Program, University of California
Christine Parker, Australia) Parker, Christine (Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Law Faculty, Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Law Faculty, University of New South Wales
John Baldwin, University of Birmingham) Baldwin, John (Professor of Law and Director of the Institute of Judicial Administration, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute of Judicial Administration