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Arun-Qayyum, Sham (2016) People, not only societies, are multicultural : an interdisciplinary study examining how Muslims in Britain are negotiating overlapping (legal) norms, identities and traditions. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/23811 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this PhD Thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This PhD Thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this PhD Thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the PhD Thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full PhD Thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD PhD Thesis, pagination. 1 Sham Arun-Qayyum Title: People, not only societies, are multicultural: An interdisciplinary study examining how Muslims in Britain are negotiating overlapping (legal) norms, identities and traditions Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2016 SOAS, University of London 2 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: _________________________ Date: ____________________ 3 Acknowledgments I would like to thank all the participants who took part in this study. I also want to thank my friends, family and colleagues who have helped me in different ways. I want to thank my supervisor Prof. Werner Menski. Without his help, this project would never have come to fruition. 4 Abstract Despite their long presence in Britain, Muslims often continue to be portrayed as an ‘alien wedge’ or even the ‘enemy within’; 'the other' that simply cannot be assimilated. These discourses need to be interrogated, not least since they create communitarian walls rather than multicultural bridges. Muslims, like members of other groups, refer to norms other than those made or accepted by the state: norms that have a personal or ethnic rather than territorial validity; a situation that I call internormativity. Methodologically, this requires us to consider not only how state agencies but also Muslims on the ground are coping with diverse norms. This study finds and records a variety of responses. Depending on the issue, domain, as well as other dimensions of difference, Muslims may cut out, bypass, stitch together, or create anew to deal with the accidents and diseases of multiculturalism. For this reason I call them cultural surgeons, and the art of decision-making or management of diversity as cultural surgery. In contrast, the state has struggled to cope and embrace diversity. Through primary and a lot of secondary research, including analysis of case law and legislation, mainly focusing on family law matters, and in particular the institution of marriage and use of shari‘a councils which have become particularly contested sites in recent years, this study examines how Muslims and the state is coping with internormativity. The study has three main objectives. First, focusing on the content of English law, to examine how far it has adapted to accommodate the beliefs of Muslims and their way of life. The concern primarily is to see whether, and to what extent, English law either explicitly or tacitly recognises ‘Muslim laws’. Second, where this is not the case what has been the response of Muslims to such non- recognition? The study records strategies and tactics by which this community, and its individuals, have sought to deal with the challenges raised by the presence of conflict between differing, overlapping, normative orders. Thirdly, to obtain a fuller understanding of the decisions Muslims are making when it comes 5 to marriage solemnisation, in-depth qualitative interviews with 59 Muslims were conducted, to draw out the sample’s motivations. It is the ‘voice’ and experiences of individuals that the research also seeks to bring out. In particular, we interrogate the impact that personal, ethnic, and territorial norms are having on their decisions, as well as to draw out other explanatory factors. Having adopted the actor as the point where all normative orders ‘converge’, and having outlined how individuals have creatively responded, the study suggests that this be the vantage point from which to look at the possible reconfiguration of the state’s legal system. The study concludes by making some recommendations on how the state in particular can manage diversity more effectively. 6 Glossary adat custom; tradition; law (a word with multiple uses and meanings) agunah ‘an anchored or chained woman’. A woman tied to a defunct marriage because her husband is unable or unwilling to release her by granting her a gett (a divorce document in Jewish law) al-‘amal actions al-i’tiqaad belief al-qawa‘id al-fiqhiyyah Islamic legal maxims al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ ‘righteous or pious predecessors’ anand karaj Sikh marriage ceremony ‘aql intellect Barelvi a Sunni sect/revivalist movement within the Hanafi school of jurisprudence be-izzeti dishonour or shaming bida‘ah heretical innovation biraderi various, clan, kinship, tribe dār al-harb the abode or territory of war dār al-Islām the territory or abode of Islam darura necessity daʿwah call or invite people to Islam deen complete way of life Deobandi a Sunni sect/revivalist movement within Hanafi school of jurisprudence dhabiha prescribed method of ritual slaughter of animals making the food halal dhirar harm dochakuka global localisation düğün wedding feast fardh obligatory 7 fasakh annulment (judicial recission) fatwa legal ruling/a scholarly opinion fiqh understanding fiqh al aqalliyyāt fiqh for Muslim minorities fiqh al-muwazanat doctrine of balance fiqh al-awlawiyyat doctrine of priorities firqah sect fuqaha‘ jurists ummah community/global brotherhood of Islam got, qom, patti, various, descent group tabbar family gurdwara a Sikh place of worship hajah need hajj pilgrimage to mecca halakhah collective body Jewish laws halal permissible Hanafi fiqh one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence Hanbali fiqh one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence haraam prohibited heer custom hijrah emigrate ibadat worship ijmā consensus or agreement of the Muslim community ijtihād striving or exerting ikhtilaf difference of opinion ikrah duress ilm-ul-ghaib knowledge of the unseen izzet various, honour, status, prestige Jamat-e-Islami Islamic political organisation and social 8 conservative movement founded by Abul Ala Maududi jihad ‘struggle’ jilbab loose outer garment worn by females which covers the whole body khat stimulant plant native to the Horn of Africa khul‘a a release for payment from the wife/ right of wife to divorce her husband madhhab school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence mafqood al-khabr missing husband mahdi guided one/awaited messiah mahr dower or ‘nuptial gift’ makrooh discouraged mal wealth or property Maliki fiqh one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence mamzeret illegitimate female offspring maqasid al-shari‘a goals/purposes of shari‘a maslaha public interest mu`amalat dealings and transactions between people mubah neutral mufti an expert on religious law mujtihad Islamic scholar who engages in ijtihad muqallid One who follows a mujtahid mustahabb recommended muwatanah citizenship nafs various, soul, ego, self nasl offspring neo-ijtihad ‘new reasoning’ 9 nikah Muslim marriage cermony niqab veil covering face except the eyes nur a divine light pardeshi rewaj foreign custom pirs Sufi master/spiritual guides qadi Islamic judge qanun wad‘i laws made by man qiyās analogical reasoning qur‘an Islamic holy book riba al-qarud usury involving loans rivaj everyday notions of familial, kinship or customary norms ṣaḥāba the generation of the Prophet of Islam and his Companions salat prayer sarva dharma sambhava equality of religions and equal respect for religions sawāb reward sawm fasting Shafi’i fiqh o ne of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence shahadah declaration that professes belief in the oneness of God, one of the five pillars of Islam sharam various, shame, embarrassment shari‘a various, way of life or more narrowly Islamic law siyāsah government, policy sunnah the sayings, deeds and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad Sunni follower of one of the two main branches of Islam 10 tābi‘īn the generation that followed the Prophet and his Companions tābi‘īn al-tābi‘īn and their successors tadrîj principle of gradualism tahsinat improvements takhayyur selection talaq nama divorce certificate talaq-i-tafwid/’esma’ a delegated right of divorce from the husband to the wife talfiq amalgamation taqlid ‘to follow’ past legal rulings taysir facilitate quam community ulema body of Muslim scholars ummat wasat a middle nation urf various, custom, law usul al-fiqh ‘the roots of law’, or ‘principles of understanding’ vivah Hindu marriage ceremony wa Allahu a‘lam and Allah knows best al-wala' wa-l-bara loyalty and disavowal wali