Islam, Law and the Modern State

(Re)imagining Liberal Theory in Muslim Contexts

Arif A Jamal author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:26th Mar '18

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Islam, Law and the Modern State cover

Within the global phenomenon of the (re)emergence of religion into issues of public debate, one of the most salient issues confronting contemporary Muslim societies is how to relate the legal and political heritage that developed in pre-modern Islamic polities to the political order of the modern states in which Muslims now live. This work seeks to develop a framework for addressing this issue. The central argument is that liberal theory, and in particular justice as discourse, can be normatively useful in Muslim contexts for relating religion, law and state. Just as Muslim contexts have developed historically, and continue to develop today, the same is the case with the requisites of liberal theory, and this may allow for liberal choices to be made in a manner that is not a renunciation of Muslim heritage.

'This path-breaking study on comparative public law confirms that the globalisation of debates about the relationship of law and religion allows today a profound, sensible re-assessment of plurality-conscious ‘justice as discourse’. Truly liberal theories of justice can indeed be reformulated and contextually applied to include Muslim concepts. An argumentative masterpiece!'

Prof. Emeritus Werner Menski, SOAS University of London, UK

'In a time of political Islamic reductionism, when the plural experience of Islam is at risk of being reduced to a dogmatic monolith, Jamal’s book invites Muslims to engage with liberal theories of justice not as the passive recipients of Western ideas, but as the active innovators of the local and global polity.'

Professor Marco Ventura, University of Siena, Italy

'This is a highly commendable and fresh contribution to the debates on the relationship between Islam and the Modern State; proposing a much needed third way apart from a theocracy or an anti-religious secular state. A well researched and highly recommended read.'

Professor Mashood A. Baderin, SOAS University of London, UK

ISBN: 9781138205482

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

150 pages