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Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law, and Society » (New Edition)

Book cover image of Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law, and Society by Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Authors: Ahmed E. Souaiaia
ISBN-13: 9780791473986, ISBN-10: 0791473988
Format: Paperback
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Date Published: January 2009
Edition: New Edition

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Author Biography: Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E. Souaiaia is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa and the author of The Function of Orality in Islamic Law and Practices: Verbalizing Meaning.

Book Synopsis

Argues that the rights of women in Muslim society are based on the preserved cultural standards of elites, not the ethical philosophy of the Qur'an.

Table of Contents

Illustrations ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction 1

1 Legal Absolutism and Ethical Relativism 15

To Know or Not to Know: The Basis of Acts 17

Cognition through Models and Paradigms 22

2 The Domain of Ethics and the Law 25

Chronology of Islamic Thought 27

Ethics, Morality, and the Law 29

Determining God's Position 29

Core and Marginal Sanctions 33

Emotion and Law in the Qur'anic Discourse 34

Threats, Incentives, and Piety 34

Crime and Punishment 36

3 Basis for the Practice of Polygamy 43

On the Methodological and Historical Assumptions 43

Methodological and Disciplinary Precedence 45

Polygamy in the Historical Context 48

The Philology of Polygamy 50

4 Women in Islamic Law of Inheritance 59

The Qur'anic and Interpretive Dichotomy 60

The Legal and Exegetical Treatment of the Verses on Inheritance 62

Women, Justice, and Interpretation: The Principle of Awl 68

Explicitnes, Consensus, and Interpretation 72

Shares and Heirs in the Comparative Context 72

Shares and Heirs per Blind Survey 79

Description of Data Collection 79

Explanation and Interpretation of Data 80

5 Women in Modern Times 87

Discussion 87

Linking Polygamy and Inheritance: Disadvantaging Women by the Numbers 87

Discussing the Status of Women 88

Other Contested Perspectives 89

Bespoke Justice versus Tyranny of Majoritism 103

Inclusion and Exclusion of Women 119

Conclusion 121

Appendix A Timeline of Scholars and Major Figures 127

Appendix B Glossary of Key Arabic Terms and Their Derivatives 133

Notes 149

Bibliography 177

Index 191

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