The Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law is the flagship publication of the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL) of the school of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. It is increasingly regarded as the leading international forum for commentary on, and analysis of, emerging issues in a field of study of everincreasing global significance. There is no more useful and thorough pricis of what has happened in Islamic and Middle Eastern law over the last year. With Volume 8 -and the advent of Martin Lau as co-editor with Eugene Cotran- the Yearbook begins an expansion of its purview into non-Arab Islamic countries, beginning in this volume with essays covering issues in Afghanistan and Kenya. The Yearbook will continue to be an authorative source of insightful commentary and scholarship on relevant developments wherever the influence of Islamic law is felt.
The Promissory Theory of Contracts in Islamic Law Hussein Hassan * 1
INTRODUCTION The conception of “ contract as promise ” or what is sometimes
called the promise theory of contract dominates mainstream contract theory .
According to ...
Scriptural Hermeneutics and the Rhetoric of Moral Reform in the Caliphate of al-Ma'ūn
Exploring the subjectivity of the Qurʾān’s meaning in the world, this book analyses Qurʾānic referencing in Muslim political rhetoric. Informed by classical Arabic-Islamic rhetorical theory, the author examines Arabic documents attributed to the ʿAbbāsid Caliph al-Maʾmūn (r. 813-833), whose rule coincided with the maturation of classical Islamic political thought and literary culture. She demonstrates how Qurʾānic referencing functions as tropological exegesis, whereby verses in the Qurʾān are reinterpreted through the lens of subjective experience. At the same time socio-historical experiences are understood in terms of the Qurʾān’s moral typology, which consists of interrelated polarities that define good and bad moral characters in mutual orientation. Through strategic deployment of scriptural references within the logical scheme of rhetorical argument, the Caliph constructs moral analogies between paradigmatic characters in the Qurʾān and people in his social milieu, and situates himself as moral reformer and guide, in order to persuade his audiences of the necessity of the Caliphate and the religio-moral imperative of obedience to his authority. The Maʾmūnid case study is indicative of the nature and function of Qurʾānic referencing across historical periods, and thus contributes to broader conversations about the impact of the Qurʾān on the shaping of Islamic civilization. This book is an invaluable resource for those with an interest in Early Islamic History, Islam and the rhetoric of contemporary Middle East regional and global Islamic politics.
Vanessa De Gifis earned her Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
from the University of Chicago (2008) and is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Wayne State University. Her research focuses on Qur'a-nic
hermeneutics, ...
This book provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the various schools of Qur'anic exegesis, from the earliest periods through to the present day. Employing a comparative-contrastive methodology, the author examines traditional and rational schools of thought – such as the Mu’tazili, Shi’i, Ibadi, Sufi, metaphysical, modern, and scientific approaches to the interpretation of the Qur’an – to give a detailed analysis of the similarities and differences in their theological views. The study spans a broad period, covering exegetical techniques adopted in Qur’anic exegesis from its infancy during the 1st/7th century up to the beginning of the 15th/21st century. Furnished with copious micro- and macro-level examples which explicate the Qur’anic notions and the points of view relevant to each school and exegetical approach, the book provides a rounded empirical study of Islamic thought. This thorough and holistic historical investigation is an important contribution to the study of Qur’anic exegesis and Islamic theology, and as such will be of enormous interest to scholars of religion, philosophy and Islamic studies.
This book provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the various schools of Qur'anic exegesis, from the earliest periods through to the present day.
The present volume closes a trilogy devoted to the exegesis of the Qurʾan analyzed according to the principles of Semitic rhetoric, a method of textual analysis developed in the field of biblical studies.
The work of the twelfth-century Shi’ite scholar al-Tabrisi, Majma’ al-bayan, is one of the most important works of medieval commentary on the Qur’an, and is still in use today. This work is an in-depth case study of Islamic exegetical methods and an exploration of the nature of scriptural interpretation in Islam. Drawing on a wide variety of sources including unpublished manuscripts, the author examines how exegesis serves to construct, maintain and defend the status of the Qur’an as scripture and to uphold certain ideological agendas, among them the notion of the literary and rhetorical supremacy of God’s revelation in Arabic. Focusing on the genre and process of Qur’anic exegesis itself, he treats Qur’an interpretation as part of a category of religious practice recognizable from the history and comparative study of religion. Written in clear and accessible style, Qur’anic Hermeneutics makes Qur’anic exegesis intelligible to specialists in Islam as well as those interested in scripture and its interpretation in general. As such, it will be a valuable reference to scholars of Islamic studies, religion and scripture.
Immigrant Rights Activism in the US, France, and the Netherlands, 1970-2015
Through historical and comparative research on the immigrant rights movements of the United States, France and the Netherlands, Cities and Social Movements examines how small resistances against restrictive immigration policies do – or don’t – develop into large and sustained mobilizations. Presents a comprehensive, comparative analysis of immigrant rights politics in three countries over a period of five decades, providing vivid accounts of the processes through which immigrants activists challenged or confirmed the status quo Theorizes movements from the bottom-up, presenting an urban grassroots account in order to identify how movement networks emerge or fall apart Provides a unique contribution by examining how geography is implicated in the evolution of social movements, discovering how and why the networks constituting movements grow by tracing where they develop Demonstrates how efforts to enforce national borders trigger countless resistances and shows how some environments provide the relational opportunities to nurture these small resistances into sustained mobilizations Written to appeal to a broad audience of students, scholars, policy makers, and activists, without sacrificing theoretical rigor
Through historical and comparative research on the immigrant rights movements of the United States, France, and the Netherlands, this book examines how small resistances against restrictive immigration policies do – or don’t – develop ...
Drawing on social movement theory, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of collective action during Guatemalaa (TM)s democratic transition (1985-1996) and the accompanying impact of social movements on democratisation, focusing on three indigenous peoplesa (TM) social movement organisations.
CONCLUSIONS SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, INDIGENOUS POLITICS AND
DEMOCRATISATION IN GUATEMALA, 1985–1996 We are now in a position to
evaluate how and why civil actors mobilised collectively during the democratic
transition in ...
Why Did the Anti-Austerity Movements Fail? Beyza Çağatay Tekin and Rıfat Barış
Tekin The world has witnessed a new wave of mass protests starting first in
crisishit Greece in spring 2010 against austerity measures, and then in the
Middle ...
