Muslim Family Law in Western Courts

This book focuses on Islamic family law as interpreted and applied by judges in Europe, Australia and North America. It uses court transcriptions and observations to discuss how the most contentious marriage-related issues - consent and age of spouses, dower, polygamy, and divorce - are adjudicated. The solutions proposed by different legal systems are reviewed , and some broader questions are addressed: how Islamic principles are harmonized with norms based on gender equality, how parties bargain strategically in and out of court, and how Muslim diasporas align their Islamic worldview with a Western normative narrative.

List of contents

Preface 1. Muslim Family Law and Legal Practice in the West: An Introduction 2. Shari‘a in the West: Colonial Consciousness in a Context of Normative Competition 3. Please Divorce Me! Subversive Agency, Resistance and Gendered Religious Scripts 4. Judicial Encounters with Islamic and Middle Eastern Family Law in Switzerland from a Private International Law Perspective – Marriage and Divorce 5. The Recognition of Transnational Muslim Marriages and Divorces by Norwegian Courts and Other Competent Authorities: Dynamics Between Legislation and Legal Practice 6. Islamic Family Law in the Courts: Spain’s Position with Regard to the Moroccan Family Code 7. An Analysis of British Judicial Treatment of Islamic Divorces, 1997 - 2009 8. Can there be a Compromise? Australia's State of Confusion Regarding Shari‘a Family Law 9. Islamic Family Law in American Courts: A Rich, Diverse and Evolving Jurisprudence

About the author

Elisa Giunchi is an Assistant Professor of History and Institutions of Muslim Countries at the University of Milan, Italy.

Product details

• Authors: Elisa (University of Milan Giunchi
• Assisted by: Elisa Giunchi (Editor), Giunchi Elisa (Editor)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.03.2014
• EAN: 9780415819770
• ISBN: 978-0-415-81977-0
• No. of pages: 212
• Series: Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Regional Studies, Middle East, Religion: general, Islamic Law, Regional Studies, Family Law, Regional / International studies, Islamic Life & Practice, Systems of law: Islamic law, Islamic life and practice