School of Law- Exeter University

ISLAMIC LAW AND SOCIETY

LAW 2132-3132
Dr Anice Van Engeland
2011-12

Dr Anice Van Engeland
Amory Building, Office A028
Tel: 01392 723379
A.van-engeland@exeter.ac.uk

TERM 2
Thursday 9:00-11:00
Streatham Court D

Office Hours term 2 (by appointment)
Tuesday 12:00-13:00
Thursday 11:30-12:30





















Course Description
The module has been developed for lawyers and will focus on the development of legal skills
and expertise which will be relevant in the professional world. The main aim of the module is
indeed to empower students who are not familiar with Islamic law with the competence to
understand the meaning of Islamic legal terms and documents.
Students taking this module will learn the basics of Islamic law in different fields ranging
from family law to banking law. It will acquaint them with the various theoretical
underpinnings of Islamic law. Students will also learn how Islamic law is applied in different
countries.

Aims and Objectives
The module has the following aims:

- To develop students' knowledge of the various theoretical underpinnings of Islamic law
which will lead to a professional and vocational expertise;

- To expand students' awareness of the practical application of Islamic law in the United
Kingdom and abroad;

- To encourage students to confidently handle, analyse, synthesise and apply the operation of
Islamic law principles to practical and theoretical situations;

- To draw conclusions regarding the application of Islamic law in Muslim countries and in
the UK.


Reading List
Hallaq, Wael, The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK/New York :
Cambridge University Press, 2005), ISBN 978-0521005807

Hallaq, Wael, An Introduction to Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2009), ISBN
978-0521861465

Hammad, Ahmad Zaki, Islamic Law: Understanding Juristic Differences (Indianapolis :
American Trust Publications, c1992), ISBN 978-0892590742

Mumisa, Michael, Islamic Law: Theory and Interpretation (Beltsville, Md. : Amana
Publications, 2002), ISBN 978-1590080108

Schacht, Joseph, Introduction to Islamic Law (Oxford University Press, 1986), ISBN 978-
0198254737

Further Readings:

Brown, Daniel, Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought (Cambridge University
Press, 1999), ISBN 978-0521653947

Nik, Norzul Thani et al., Law and Practice of Islamic Banking and Finance (Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia : Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2008), ISBN 9839088769

Hallaq, Wael, Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK; New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), ISBN 978-0521803311

Hallaq, Wael, The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK; New York :
Cambridge University Press, 2005), ISBN 978-0521005807

Ray, Nicholas Dylan, Arab Islamic Banking and the Renewal of Islamic Law
(London;Boston : Graham & Trotman, 1995), ISBN 978-1859661048

Saeed, Abdullah, Islamic Thought: an Introduction (Routledge, 2006) ISBN 978-0415364096

Vogel, Frank, Islamic Law and Finance: Religion, Risk and Return (The Hague ;Boston :
Kluwer Law International, c1998), ISBN 978-9041106247

Weiss, Bernard, The Spirit of Islamic Law (University of Georgia Press, 2006), ISBN 978-
0820328270

Journals

Journal of Islamic Law and Culture

Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law

Islamic Law and Society





Assessment
Assignment
Formative essay 2000 words

Assessment
Problem: Case Study - 2000 words (50%).
Essay - 2000 words (50%).

Class Etiquette

Students are allowed to use computers to take notes but are requested to refrain from surfing
online. Any other electronic device will be stowed away during class, including mobile
phones and Ipad. No device should be on the table or used during class.
Be on time.
Be respectful of your classmates.
If there is a problem, please contact the course coordinator.
Students are expected to be aware of the University rules regarding plagiarism as they will be
enforced
http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/socialsciences/pg/handbooks/pgr/3.4_Plagiarism.php













Syllabus Plan 2011-12

Lecture 1 (19 January 2012)
Introduction to Islamic law: What is Islamic law? Sources of Islamic Law
Prof Robert Gleave and Dr Anice Van Engeland

Lecture 2 (26 January 2012)
26th Jan: Philosophy of Islamic law and Islamic Legal Thought; Classic Islamic Law
Prof Robert Gleave

Lecture 3 (03 February 2012)
Pre-Modern Reform, Colonialism and Modernity - Islamic Law and State Legislation
Prof Robert Gleave

Lecture 4 (09 February 2012)
Islamic Legal Thought: Past and Present
Dr Anice van Engeland

Lecture 5 (16 February 2012)
Islamic law and human rights (with a focus on gender and Islamic feminism)
Dr Anice van Engeland

Lecture 6 (23 February 2012)
Islamic Banking and Finance: an introduction
Dr Anice van Engeland
Guest lecturer: Dr Jonathan Ercanbrack, lecture in Islamic finance, SOAS

Lecture 7 (01 March 2012)
Islamic Criminal Law
Prof Robert Gleave

Lecture 8 (08 March 2012)
Islamic Banking and Finance II
Dr Anice van Engeland
Guest lecturer: Mr Sajjad Khosroo, Associate, White and Case London

Lecture 9 (15 March 2012)
Islamic Family Law: an Introduction
Prof Robert Gleave



Lecture 10 (22 March 2012)
Islamic family law II
Dr Anice van Engeland
Guest lecturer: Raffia Arshad, barrister, St Marys Chambers, Nottingham

Lecture 11 (29 March 2012)
Islamic law and Muslim Communities in the West/Islamic legal revivalism and its
consequences
Dr Anice van Engeland
Guest lecturer: Aina Khan, Senior Consultant Solicitor RJW Solicitors Family Department,
London




















List of Primary Texts:
During the module Professor Gleave will be referring to primary texts. These are available
on ELE. They are all contained within the pdf entitled: ARA-LAW2132-3132:

TEXT A. Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid, Muhammad b. Muhammad (d.505/1111), al-Mustasfa min
ilm al-usul (Beirut: dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah, 1996), pp.98-99 and pp.211-212

TEXT B. Egyptian Codes and Classical Islamic Law Examples

TEXT C. Fatwas on Homicide Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad (d. 728/1328) al-Fatawa
al-Kubra, 5 vols. (Beirut: Dar al-arkam, 1999) 4, pp.647

TEXT D. Modern Statutes on Polygamy from Muslim countries

TEXT E. The Case of Janis Khan v/the United Kingdom (European Commission on Human
Rights)

READING:
Reading assignments for the first THREE weeks of class are listed below. An additional
reading List will be made available to you for week 4 onwards. The required reading
comprises three elements:
(1) reading describing pre-modern Islamic legal material relevant for the weeks topic
(2) an article or similar examining a discussion about modern Islamic law
(3) a popular piece from a journal or magazine which discusses Islamic law in a way
relevant to the weeks topic.

Most of (1) and (2) are on ELE in pdf form. (2) is always available through an accompanying
url hyperlink.

If you want to buy a book, then many readings will be coming from:

K. Vikor, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law (London: Hurst, 2005).
Copies are available in the bookshop

19th Jan: Introduction to Islamic law: What is Islamic law? Sources of Islamic Law

Required reading:
K. Vikor, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law (London: Hurst, 2005).
B. Dupret, What is Islamic law?, Theory, Culture & Society (2007) 24, 2, pp.79-100
In Islamic Law, Gingrich sees a mortal threat to the US, New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/us/politics/in-shariah-gingrich-sees-mortal-threat-tous.
html

Essay reading
N. Calder, "Law: Legal Theory and Jurisprudence" in Oxford Encyclopeadia of the Modern
Islamic
World, vol. 2, pp. 450-456
Aharon Layish The Transformation of the Shara from Jurists' Law to Statutory Law in the
Contemporary Muslim World Die Welt des Islams, (2004), 44, pp. 85-113

26th Jan: Philosophy of Islamic law and Islamic Legal Thought ; Classic Islamic Law

Required reading:
TEXT A. Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid, Muhammad b. Muhammad (d.505/1111), al-Mustasfa min
ilm al-usul (Beirut: dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah, 1996), pp.98-99 and pp.211-212
W. Hallaq, "Usul al-Fiqh: Beyond Tradition" in W. Hallaq, Law and Legal Theory in
Classical and Medieval Islam, (Hampshire: Variorum, 1994)
No Contradictions between the Koran and Us Constitution
http://blog.nj.com/dr_aref_assaf/2012/01/no_contradictions_between_the_koran_and_the_us
_constitution.html

Essay reading
N. Calder, "Law" in O. Leaman and S.H. Nasr (ed), History of Islamic Philosophy, (London:
Routledge, 1996), vol. 2, pp. 979-1000
N.Calder, Feqh in Encyclopedia Iranica, 9, 504-511 (and
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/feqh)
K. Vikor, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law (London: Hurst,
2005),pp.34-53
B. Weiss, "Interpretation in Islamic Law: The Theory of Ijtihad", AJCL, 26, 1978, pp.199-
212
(also in I. Edge (ed), Islamic Law and Legal Theory, (Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1996), pp.273-
286)
Yasir Ibrahim, Rashid Rida and Maqasid al-Sharia Studia Islamica (2006), 102/103, pp.
157-198
M. H. Kamali, Issues in the Legal theory of Usul and prospects for reform, Islamic Studies,
(2001), 40.1, pp. 5-23

2nd Feb: Pre-Modern Reform, Colonialism and Modernity - Islamic Law and State
Legislation
Required reading:
TEXT B. Egyptian Codes and Classical Islamic Law Examples
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim, The Compatibility Dialectic: Mediating the Legitimate
Coexistence of Islamic Law and State Law, The Modern Law Review (2010), 73, pp.129
Sharia and Constitution in post revolution Tunisia
http://jurist.org/sidebar/2012/01/tupaz-martinez-tunisia.php

Essay reading
K. Vikor, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law (London: Hurst, 2005),
pp.222-279
Robert W. Hefner (ed.) Sharia politics : Islamic law and society in the modern world
(Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2011)
Wael B. Hallaq, Shara : theory, practice, transformations (Cambridge ; New York :
Cambridge University Press, 2009).
Abbas Amanat and Frank Griffel (ed) Sharia : Islamic law in the contemporary context
(Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, 2007)
Haider Ala Hamoudi The Muezzin's Call and the Dow Jones Bell: On the Necessity of
Realism in the Study of Islamic Law The American Journal of Comparative Law , Vol. 56,
No. 2 (Spring, 2008), pp. 423-439