Shari'a Politics: Islamic Law and Society in the Modern World (Book Review)

Abstract

A book review of Robert W. Hefner’s Shari’a Politics: Islamic Law and Society in the Modern World. The book explores the role of Islamic jurisprudence in the contemporary legal systems of eight predominantly Muslim countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia). Editor, Robert Hefner begins with a summary essay providing context for the other eight essays, each of which consider a particular jurisdiction. The authors were asked to “map the politics and meanings of shari’a in each country. In particular, Heffner was concerned with various opinions and practices of shari’a, organizations concerned with shari’a, the relative influence of different approaches, and the way support for particular approaches is impacted by class, gender, education and religious identity. Overall, the volume is an extremely helpful survey of these issues in the countries it reviews.

Keywords: Islam, Democracy, Reform, Religion, Law, Interdisciplinary, Politics

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K33, K39, N40, N45, Y3