Islamic Law in Africa

Because of calls in northern Nigeria for the full implementation of sharia, Islamic law in Africa has received much attention recently. The spotlight usually falls on the other side of the continent - on the Sudan - since the promulgation of the 1983 'legal revolution' of Numayri and where no constitutional debate has been free of major political struggles over the question of sharia. But apart from these two sub-Saharan countries, there is very little general knowledge on or scholarship about the history, ethnography or politics of Islamic law on the continent. Yet because of the Muslim presence, in large or small numbers, in the populations of all African countries, recognition of Islamic laws in many African states has, since independence, been fraught with political controversy. In certain cases, it is part of 'customary law', in others it stands independently but always secondary to state law and maintains a curious relation to customary law. 'Muslim personal law' has been and continues to be a focus of debate in Muslim communities and often a source of tension in national politics

Language identity modernity: the Arabic study circle of Durban

A fusion of linguistic, religious and ethnic groups with rich, diverse roots and intersecting histories make up South Africa. However, the literature on most of the smaller groups tends to be thin and uneven and often tends to relegate them to the margins of the country?s major narratives. This innovative study introduces readers to a fascinating world of linguistic, religious and cultural politics in the South African port city of Durban from around 1950, the world of the Arabic Study Circle. This Association was led by a group of largely middle class, Indian, Muslim Gujurati-speaking men who were passionate about breaking out of the narrow confines of their origins and connecting to a larger changing world of learning rooted in Arabic and an Islamic modernity. They were gentlemen who believed in the transformative powers of reading and conversation. They exemplify the broader process, common among educated but disadvantaged people in apartheid South Africa and across the decolonising world, of the search for meaning, community and authenticity. This work provides an intimate sense of who they were and how they operated, their visions, as well as their international connections and contexts.

Muslim Family Law in Sub-Saharan Africa. Colonial Legacies and Post-Colonial Challenges

Deze essaybundel behandelt het Franse en Britse koloniale bestuur in Afrika en laat zien hoe deze machten omgingen met de diversiteit aan islamitische rechtsscholen, rechtsgeleerden en rechtspraktijken in Sub-Sahara Afrika. De bijdragen gaan in op de grote invloed die dit kolonialisme tot op de dag van vandaag uitoefent op de islamitische juridische praktijk van het Afrikaanse continent. De vergelijkende historische en antropologische artikelen belichten daarnaast de strijd van een aantal Afrikaanse regeringen met hun islamitische inwoners om de uitvoering van de Shariawetgeving, vooral rond het familierecht. Muslim Family Law in Sub-Saharan Africa plaatst de verschillende perspectieven in een vergelijkende historische (koloniale) context. Shamil Jeppie is docent Historische studies aan de University of Cape Town, Zuid-Afrika. Ebrahim Moosa is docent Religieuze studies aan Duke University, Verenigde Staten. Richard Roberts is hoogleraar Geschiedenis aan Stanford University, Verenigde Staten