The meanings and contexts of Shari'a are the subject of both curiosity and misunderstanding by non-Muslims. Shari'a is sometimes crudely characterised by outsiders as a punitive legal system operating broadly outside, and separate from, national laws and customs. This groundbreaking book shows that Shari'a and its 'fiqh' (laws set forward by various Islamic legal schools) comprise a far more nuanced matrix of interpretations than is often assumed to be the case. Far from being monolithic or impervious to change from without, Muslim legal tradition has - since its beginnings in the early Islamic period - placed an emphasis on equity and non-adversarial conflict-resolution. Mohamed Keshavjee examines both Sunni and Shi'a applications of Islamic law, demonstrating how political, cultural and other factors have influenced the practice of fiqh and Shari'a in the West. Exploring in particular the modern development of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the author shows that this process can revitalise some of the essential principles that underlie Muslim teachings and jurispudence, delivering not only formal remedies but also perceived justice, even to non-Muslims.

Table of Contents:
Introduction • Focus and scope of this book • The Muslim Community in Britain • Interface between the Sharia and United Kingdom laws • Pressures of rapid acculturation • Problems of recognising the Sharia • Overview of the Hounslow Muslim Community • Growth of the community • Struggle to build a mosque • Outlook of the younger generation • The Sharia, Religious Law of Muslims • Sulh: negotiated settlement • The concept of forgiveness • The Shari a: some issues in the UK • The fatwa • Some perceptions of the Sharia • The Muslim Law (Shariah) Council (UK) • Approach of the founder of MLSC • ADR services offered by MLSC • Declaratory functions of MLSC • Placing MLSC’s work in perspective • The Many Faces of ADR in Hounslow • Imams and mosque trustees • Biraderis • Pakistan Welfare Association • Elders • Muslim Women’s Helpline • Police • Solicitors • Pirs and coteries • Alternative dispute resolution agencies • The Case for Court-Invoked Adjudication • Mabr as a contractual matter • Forced and arranged marriages • Forced marriages: an extra-judicial approach • Children of estranged parents • Inheritance: appeal against Sharia Council ruling • Discussion of the cases • Legal pluralism • Muslim legal pluralism in Britain • Towards an Islamic Model of ADR • Evolution of family mediation in the UK • Factors determining an Islamic ADR model • Policy Considerations • Overall implications • Implications for ADR • Implications for Muslims in Britain • Implications for government agencies and policy-makers • Implications for law schools and universities • Implications for the legal profession and ADR practitioners and theorists • The way forward • Appendix: Some Perspectives on ADR Notes • Glossary of Arabic, Persian and South Asian Terms • Bibliography • Index