Islamic Shari'a Law, History and Modernity: Some Reflections

Authors

Suleiman A. Mourad, Smith CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Publication Title

Revista de Direito Internacional, Brasilia

Abstract

In the last two centuries, Muslim modernists have introduced major legal reforms that led to the restriction of the range and scope of Islamic Shari’a Law and the overhaul of legal thought and practice in the Muslim World. Nevertheless, every time a new legal reform is proposed, it is met with outcries from Islamists who label it un-Islamic and blasphemy against God. This paper examines some major premodern scholars of Islamic jurisprudence whose thought and practice about Shari’a Law featured tremendous flexibility in the way they understood their role as legislators and accepted a diversity of rules. The paper shows how important Islamic history is for a proper understanding of Islamic Shari’a Law, which accommodates change and constant interpretation.

Keywords

Islamic Shari’a Law, Muslims and Modernity, Islamic Legal Reforms

Volume

15

Issue

3

First Page

25

Last Page

31

DOI

10.5102/rdi.v15i3.5934

Comments

Archived as published.

Recommended Citation

Mourad, Suleiman A., "Islamic Shari'a Law, History and Modernity: Some Reflections" (2018). Religion: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/rel_facpubs/17