Changing interpretations of Shari’a, ‘Urf and Qanun. An anthropologically grounded overview of Islamic encounters with the postenlightenment premises of European Family Law

Abstract

Prepared for a conference on current developments in Islamic Family Law, this paper takes the opportunity to compare and contrast the meaning of ‘law’ in general, and ‘family law’ in particular in the classical Shari’a tradition with the premises which currently underpin contemporary forms of post-enlightment European Family Law. Having done so, it goes on to explore the way in which the institutions of the Shari’a have been comprehensively remoulded (if not yet entirely wholly eliminated) in the course of confrontations with the impa Show more