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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic – Winter 2020

Course Outline: Central Questions in Islamic Law (ISLA 383, Winter 2020)

Sessions: Tues. 14:35-17:25, in EDUC 629

Instructor: Dr. Walter Edward Young ([email protected]) Tel: 514-398-6077 Office Hours: Morrice Hall, Room 313; Thurs. 16:00-18:00

ISLA 383 is an integrative view of Islamic law in the past and present, including landmarks in Islamic (e.g., ; early formation; intellectual make-up; the workings of ; legal change; legal effects of colonialism; modernity and legal reform) and a structured definition of what it was/is.

ISLA 383 is an exploration of a number of important (and contended) questions in Islamic Legal Studies, through the lenses provided by several distinct bodies of discourse and practice, including: (1) premodern Islamic substantive law, legal theory, and historical practice; (2) modern “sharīʿa-inspired” legal-frameworks and practices; and (3) the modern and postmodern academic discourses which treat these. The course will unfold in two stages, roughly divided between Part I: Premodern Islamic Law (including topics on Islamic legal origins, evolution, literature, theory, dialectic, , court practice, substantive rulings, etc.) and Part II: Modern Islamic Law (including topics on Islamic law and gender, modernity, colonization, nation-states, reform, human rights, etc.) Throughout this exploration, students will develop their skills in critical reading and argumentation while acquiring a sense of the remarkable plurality of both premodern and modern Islamic legal traditions and practices, a firm grounding in significant legal-historical developments, and a basic familiarity with relevant and paradigmatic academic discourses.

Requirements. Students are expected:

(1) to be punctual, to attend all classes, and to actively participate in group assignments and debates — there will be regular class activities, and participation is an integral component of the final grade;

(2) to have read the required readings for each session — students, without prior notice, may be called upon to identify the main issues raised in each assigned reading;

(3) to write a detailed research paper proposal and outline (ca. 500-750 words) on a relevant topic, due 10:00 pm, Monday 10 February, via electronic submission — NB: approval of topic and approach must be obtained prior to this date (via email / office hours meeting);

(4) to write the proposed research paper, due 10:00 pm, Thursday 09 April, via electronic submission — the paper is not to exceed 8,000 words (word count includes footnotes but not bibliography);

(5) to write a take-home midterm (due 10:00 pm, Monday 02 March, via electronic submission) and take-home final exam (due 10:00 pm, Friday 17 April, via electronic submission ) — each of which will require the identification and elaboration of four out of six concepts, institutions, discourses, etc. (in concise statements, minimum 200 words each).

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

Required Textbooks (available from Paragraphe Bookstore): Grading System:  Wael Hallaq, Sharīʿa: theory, practice, transformations (Cambridge,  Participation = 10% 2009) [cost: ca. CAD 57.00]  Research Proposal, Outline = 10%  Knut Vikør, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law  Midterm Exam = 20% (Hurst, 2005) [cost: ca. CAD 34.00]  Final Exam = 20% NB: other required readings (listed below in course outline) are  Research Paper = 40% available online via McGill Libraries, and/or uploaded to MyCourses, and/or available on reserve at the Library.

Course Schedule: Topics and Readings NB: each day of class will be divided into two parts, each addressing a distinct set of topics.

DATE TIMES Lectures & Required Readings PART I: PREMODERN ISLAMIC LAW 07 14:35-16:00 01a Course Overview and Logistics Jan 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 01b Conceptual Frameworks for Islamic Legal Studies 14 14:35-16:00 02a Prefatory Discussions: the State of Islamic Legal Studies and the “Nature” of Sharīʿa Jan Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 1-23 (“Introduction”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 1-19 (“1. Introduction: Does Islamic Law Exist?”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Hallaq, “What is Shariʿa?” Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, 2005-2006, vol. 12 (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2007): 151-180 [available online via McGill Libraries] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 02b Origins and Early Evolution of Islamic Law Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 27-31 (section 1 of “The Formative Period”) [course textbook, not online]  Schacht, “Foreign Elements in Ancient Islamic Law,” pp. 59-67 in Hallaq, ed., The Formation of Islamic Law [available online via McGill Libraries]  Young, “Origins of Islamic Law,” Oxford Encyclopedia of and Law [available online via McGill Libraries] Recommended  Hallaq, “The Quest for Origins or Doctrine? Islamic Legal Studies as Colonialist Discourse,” UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law 2.1 (2002-03): 1-31 [available online via McGill Libraries] 21 14:35-16:00 03a Formative Legal History Jan Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 31-71 (sections 2-7 of “The Formative Period”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 20-30 (“2. From Practice to Method”); pp. 89- 113 (“6. The Four Schools of Law”); pp. 114-129 (“7. Law Beyond the Four Schools”) [course textbook, not online]

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

Recommended  Modarressi, Introduction to Shīʿī Law, pp. 22-44 (first half of Chap. 4 “The Periods of Shīʿī Law” [stopping before Shaykh al-Ṭā’ifa]) [pdf posted on MyCourses] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 03b Later Legal History and the Genres of Legal Literature Required Readings:  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 136-137 (part of “Law Beyond the Four Schools” [Shīʿī law under Safavids and later]) [course textbook, not online]  Johansen, “Islamic Law,” (3. Genres of Legal Literature), The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History [available online via McGill Libraries]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 161-167 (genres part of “8. The Court and the Law: the Muftīs and Legal Development”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Modarressi, Introduction to Shīʿī Law, pp. 44-58 (second half of Chap. 4 “The Periods of Shīʿī Law” [from Shaykh al-Ṭā’ifa to modern]) [pdf posted on MyCourses] Group Teach Readings (each student will be pre-assigned one of four readings, which they will summarize for their group in this class) Reading A.  Schacht and Heffening, “Ḥanafiyya,” EI2 [available online via McGill Libraries]  Turkī, “Ẓāhiriyya,” EI2 [available online via McGill Libraries] Reading B.  Cottart, “Mālikiyya,” EI2 [available online via McGill Libraries] Reading C.  Chaumont, “al-Shāfiʿiyya,” EI2 [available online via McGill Libraries] Reading D.  Laoust, “Ḥanābila,” EI2 [available online via McGill Libraries] 28 14:35-16:00 04a Legal Theory I: History Jan Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 72-78 (section 1 of “2. Legal Theory: epistemology, language and legal reasoning”) [course textbook, not online]  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 113-124 (“2.9 Shīʿite Legal Theory”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 129-135 (part of “Law Beyond the Four Schools”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Young, “Uṣūl al-fiqh,” Oxford Islamic Studies Online [available online via McGill Libraries]  Modarressi, Introduction to Shīʿī Law, pp. 2-12 (Chap. 1 “The Shīʿī legal system and its sources;” Chap. 2 “General remarks on Shīʿī ”) [pdf posted on MyCourses] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 04b Legal Theory II: Contents Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 78-113 (sections 2-8 of “2. Legal Theory: epistemology, language and legal reasoning”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 31-88 (“3. The Koran and Sunna as Sources,” “4. Elaborating the Sources: Qiyās and Ijtihād,” “5. Getting Social Sanction: Ijmāʿ and Authorization”) [course textbook, not online]

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

04 14:35-15:50 05a Juridical Dialectic: Theories and Practices Feb Required Readings:  Young, “Dialectic in the Religious Sciences,” EI3 [UNPUBLISHED DRAFT] Recommended  Young, The Dialectical Forge, pp. 108-119, 129-188 [available online via McGill Libraries] 15:50-16:00 [Walk to IS Library Lecture, Octagon Room] 16:00-17:25 05b Islamic Studies Library Resources Lecture with Head Librarian Anaïs Salamon Required Readings:  No required readings, but please bring laptop, tablet, or other device in order to practice with online catalogs and other resources Monday 10 February, 10:00 pm: research proposal & outline due (via electronic submission) 11 14:35-16:00 06a Legal Change and Feb Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 125-58 (“Legal Education and the Politics of Law”) [course textbook, not online]  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 176-183 (“The jurisconsult (muftī) and the author-jurist (muṣannif): society and legal change”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 140-161 (main part of “8. The Court and the Law: the Muftīs and Legal Development”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Schacht, Introduction to Islamic Law, 69-75 (“The ‘Closing of the Gate of Independent Reasoning’ and the further development of doctrine”) [pdf posted on MyCourses]  Hallaq, “Was the Gate of Closed?” 3-41 [available online via McGill Libraries] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 06b The Qāḍī, the Muftī, the , and the Premodern Islamic Polity Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 159-76 (“4. Law and Society” [4.1 “Introduction”, 4.2 “ and Arbitration”, 4.3 “The Qāḍī and his Court”]) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, 168-84 (“9. The Court and its Judge: The Role of the Qāḍī”) [course textbook, not online]  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 197-221 (“5. The Circle of Justice and later dynasties”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 185-205 (“10. The Court and the State” [course textbook, not online] 18 14:35-16:00 07a Historical Legal Systems and the Practice of Islamic Law Feb Required Readings:  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 206-221 (“11. Law and Courts in the Ottoman Empire”) [course textbook, not online]  Coulson, Conflicts and Tensions in Islamic Jurisprudence, pp. 58-76 (“Idealism and Realism”) [pdf to be posted on MyCourses / book made available on reserve at IS Library] Recommended  El-Nahal, The Judicial Administration of Ottoman in the 17th Century, pp. 1-73 [pdf to be posted on MyCourses / book made available on reserve at IS Library] 16:00-16:10 Break

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

16:10-17:25 07b Topics in Substantive Law I Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 551-555 (“Appendix A: Contents of substantive legal works”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 137-139 (part of “Law Beyond the Four Schools”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Modarressi, Introduction to Shīʿī Law, pp. 13-22 (Chap. 3. “The Outlines of Shīʿī Law”) [pdf posted on MyCourses] Group Teach Readings (each student will be pre-assigned one of five readings, which they will summarize for their group in this class) Reading A.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 225-238 (“6. The legal pillars of religion”) [course textbook, not online] Reading B.  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 326-328, 332-344 (most of “16. Economy, taxes, and ”) [course textbook, not online]  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 142-146 ( treated in “Legal Education and the Politics of Law”) [course textbook, not online] Reading C.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 239-256 (sections 1-4 of “7. and other obligations”) [course textbook, not online] Reading D.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 256-270 (sections 5-14 of “7. Contracts and other obligations”) [course textbook, not online] Reading E.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 296-307 (“9. Property and ownership”) [course textbook, not online] 25 14:35-16:00 08a Topics in Substantive Law II Feb Required Readings:  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 280-321 (“14. ” and part of “15. ”) [course textbook, not online] Group Teach Readings (each student will be pre-assigned one of five readings, which they will summarize for their group in this class) Reading A.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 271-283 (sections 1-2 of “8. Family law and succession”) [course textbook, not online] Reading B.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 283-295 (sections 3-6 of “8. Family law and succession”) [course textbook, not online] Reading C.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 308-323 (“10. Offenses”) [course textbook, not online] Reading D.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 324-341 (“11. Jihād”) [course textbook, not online] Reading E.  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 342-353 (“12. Courts of justice, suits and ”) [course textbook, not online] 16:00-16:10 Break

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

16:10-17:25 08b Review Session for Take-Home Midterm Exam  take-home midterm exam will be handed out at the end of class (then posted online) Monday 02 March, 10:00 pm: take-home midterm due (via electronic submission) 02-06 Mar: Study Break

PART II: MODERN ISLAMIC LAW 10 14:35-16:00 09a Women and Islamic Law Mar Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 184-196 (4.5 “Women, society and legal practice”) [course textbook, not online]  Mir-Hosseini, “Islamic law and the question of gender equality,” Routledge Handbook of Islamic Law [available online via McGill Libraries] Recommended  Tucker, “ and Matrimony,” Islamic Law and Society 1.3 (1994): 265-99 [available online via McGill Libraries]  Rehim, “The Family and Gender in Egypt during the Ottoman Period,” in Women, the Family, and Laws in Islamic History, ed. Amira el-Azhary Sonbol (Syracuse: Syracuse Press, 1996), 96-111 [available online via McGill Libraries]  Gerber, “Social and Economic Position of Women in an Ottoman City, Bursa, 1600- 1700,” IJMES 12 (1980): 231-44 [available online via McGill Libraries]  Moors, “Debating Islamic Family Law: Legal Texts and Social Practices,” in Social History of Women and Gender in the Modern , ed. M. Meriwether and J. Tucker (Oxford, 1999), 141-72 [available online via McGill Libraries] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 09b Modernity and Islamic Law: Prefatory Discussions Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 357-370 (“13. The conceptual framework: an introduction”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 222-229 (part of “12. Islamic Law in the Modern Period” [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Hodgson, “The Impact of the Great Western Transmutation: The Generation of 1789,” in The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, Volume 3, The Gunpowder Empires and Modern times (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974), pp. 176-222 [available online via McGill Libraries] 17 14:35-16:00 10a Sharīʿa and Colonization I Mar Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 371-395 (“14. The jural colonization of and Southeast Asia”) [course textbook, not online]  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 432-442 (sections 6-7 of “15. Hegemonic modernity: the Middle East and during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 242-248 (parts of “12. Islamic Law in the Modern Period”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

 John Strawson, “Encountering Islamic Law,” available at: http://www.iium.edu.my/deed/lawbase/jsrps.html 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 10b Sharīʿa and Colonization II Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 396-432 (sections 1-5 of “15. Hegemonic modernity: the Middle East and North Africa during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 229-239 (parts of “12. Islamic Law in the Modern Period”) [course textbook, not online] 24 14:35-16:00 11a Sharīʿa in Muslim-Majority Nation-States Mar Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 443-499 (“16. Modernizing the law in the age of nation states”) [course textbook, not online]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 239-242, 248-279 (parts of “12. Islamic Law in the Modern Period” and (“13. Implementing the Sharīʿa”) [course textbook, not online] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 11b Sharīʿa in Muslim-Minority Nation-States Required Readings:  Rohe, “ and the Muslim Diaspora,” Ashgate Research Companion to Islamic Law [available online via McGill Libraries] Recommended  Emon, “Islamic Law and the Canadian Mosaic: Politics, Jurisprudence, and Multicultural Accommodation,” The Canadian Review 87.2 (2009): 391-425 [available online via McGill Libraries] 31 14:35-16:00 12a Topics in modern legal change I: legal theory and the politics of reform Mar Required Readings:  Hallaq, Sharīʿa, pp. 500-550 (“17. In search of a legal methodology” and “18. Repercussions: concluding notes”) [course textbook, not online] Recommended  Hallaq, “Can the Shari‘a be Restored?” in Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity, ed. Yvonne Y. Haddad and B. Stowasser (Walnut Creek, 2004), 21-53 [pdf posted on MyCourses] 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 12b Topics in modern legal change II: political and institutional transformations Required Readings:  March, “Modern Islamic ,” Routledge Handbook of Islamic Law [available online via McGill Libraries]  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 328-332 (“Islamic banking” in “16. Economy, taxes, and property”) [course textbook, not online] 07 14:35-16:00 13a Topics in modern legal change III: new dynamics in the transformation of law and Apr legal theory Required Readings:  Vikør, Between God and the Sultan, pp. 321-325 ([“modern adaptations” in “15. Family Law”) [course textbook, not online]  Dunn, “Islamic Law and Human Rights,” Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law [available online via McGill Libraries]

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REVISED SYLLABUS: ISLA 383 – Central Questions in Islamic Law – Winter 2020

Recommended  Emon, “Islamic Law and Finance,” Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law  Shabana, “Islamic law and bioethics,” Routledge Handbook of Islamic Law 16:00-16:10 Break 16:10-17:25 13b Review Session for Take-Home Final Exam  take-home final exam will be handed out at the end of class (then posted online) Thursday 09 April, 10:00 pm: research paper due (via electronic submission) Friday 17 April, 10:00 pm: take-home final due (via electronic submission) 17-30 April: Study Break

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