Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law, and Society

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 195 pages
• Published by: State University of New York Press March 6, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 079147397X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0791473979
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 13.6 ounces

Product Description
Argues that the rights of women in Muslim society are based on the preserved cultural standards of elites, not the ethical philosophy of the Quran.

Back Cover Copy
Contesting Justice looks at the development of the laws and practices governing the status of women in Muslim society, particularly in terms of marriage, polygamy, inheritance, and property rights. Ahmed E. Souaiaia argues that such laws were not methodically derived from legal sources but rather are the preserved understanding and practices of the early ruling elite. Based on his quantitative, linguistic, and normative analyses of Quranic texts--and contrary to the established practice--the author shows that these texts sanction only monogamous marriages, guarantee only female heirs' shares, and do not prescribe an inheritance principle that awards males twice the shares of females. He critically explores the way religion is developed and then is transformed into a social control mechanism that transcends legal reform, gender-sensitive education, or radical modernization. To ameliorate the legal, political, and economic status of women in the Islamic world, Souaiaia recommends the strengthening of civil society institutions that will challenge wealth-engendered majoritism, curtail society-manufactured conformity, and bridle the absolute power of the state.


"This is the first study I have seen in which the author combines expert knowledge of highly technical aspects of shari`ah, Islamic hermeneutics, human rights, and social justice. Souaiaia speaks with authority to a specialist Islamic scholar, while making his argument and analysis clear and accessible to a general reader. This is an informative and engaging book." -- Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na`im, Emory University School of Law

Reader Reviews
Ahmed Souaiaia brings a plethora of issues to light, such as human rights for Muslim women in religious and secular nations, gender roles in upholding inequality between the sexes, the reality that reformation in law only caters to those who have the money to hire a lawyer, and many more issues that could never be addressed in one review. Although the book frames the above issues around inheritance and polygamy for Muslims, it allows a reader who may not be as versed to peer into the psyche of law based around the Qur'an and Islamic tradition. If the reader knows the general background of the prophet Muhammad, then Souaiaia's Contesting Justice will be a dense, but comprehensive read that will expose the other side of the coin in our western perception of Islam. A wonderful example of introductory comprehensibility is Souaiaia's explanation of the ambiguity of legal decisions based on interpretation within the Qur'an and Islamic law by using real situations from past official judgments within the U.S. For example, freedom of speech is a constitutional right in the U.S.A. because the First Amendment explicitly protects it. On the other hand, abortion rights are not an explicitly stated constitutional right. Because of the non-explicitness of abortion in the constitution, interpretation was needed and some jurists found that abortion was rooted in the right to privacy. Even then the right to privacy was an interpretive ruling from Justice Louis Brandeis' "a right to be left alone." The right to privacy evolved into a "liberty of personal autonomy" protected by the Fourteenth amendment. Souaiaia's own knowledge of the U.S. legal system allows us to see the comparisons and difficulties of interpretive law within the Qur'an, Islamic jurisprudence, and our own system. The above example is only one of countless ways Souaiaia links the introductory reader to a world not understood by many Westerners. I would encourage anybody who wishes to read quantifiable, balanced, authoritative, and critical material to purchase Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law and Society.