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Shariʿa and Life

Authority, Compromise, and Mission in European Mosques

Uriya Shavit Fabian Spengler

$84.99

Paperback

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English
University of Toronto Press
23 August 2023
Shari'a and Life examines the degree of individual discretion and flexibility Muslims apply when reconciling the challenges of everyday life with their religious beliefs.

Drawing on five years of field studies in pragmatic- and dogmatic-inclined mosques across Europe, Shari'a and Life explores how Muslims engage with shari'a norms in general, and specifically with the challenges they face as Muslims living in majority non-Muslim societies.

The book examines how fatwas (advice on shari'a-related matters) are quested, negotiated, paraphrased, contested, or ignored in mosques, on the internet, and elsewhere. It also analyses individual strategies, external to religio-legal discourse, through which Muslims mitigate conflicts between interpretations of shari'a and everyday life. Among the issues discussed in the book are financial transactions, education, the workplace, sports, electoral participation, Christmas greetings, proselytizing, and the legitimacy of choosing to live in a non-Muslim country. Shifting the focus from the authors and texts of fatwas to their recipients, Shari'a and Life gives voice to those often left voiceless and demonstrates the great discretion and flexibility with which tensions between shari'a and life are resolved.
By:   ,
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication:   Canada
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm,  Spine: 23mm
Weight:   360g
ISBN:   9781487554378
ISBN 10:   1487554370
Pages:   290
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Uriya Shavit is a professor of Islamic, Democracy, and Migration studies at Tel Aviv University. Fabian Spengler earned a PhD from Tel Aviv University. His main research areas are Muslim minorities in the West, and the discourse about Islam, education, and integration in Germany.

Reviews for Shariʿa and Life: Authority, Compromise, and Mission in European Mosques

"""An original and thought-provoking study. The book challenges easy interpretations of the role of shariʿa and fatwas in Western Muslim lives and is essential reading for anyone interested in the sociology of religious law and the development of Islamic life in the West."" - Roberto Tottoli, Rector, University of Naples L'Orientale, and editor of the Routledge Handbook of Islam in the West ""I highly recommend reading this book, which provides a groundbreaking thesis on a crucial issue: how fatwas are diffused and negotiated and what impact they have in the actual everyday lives of Muslims, including in organizing a religious life that is in line with the circumstances and conditions of reality."" - Iyad Zahalka, Qadi of the Shariʿa High Court of Appeal and Director of the Shariʿa Court's Administration in Israel ""Integrating a mixed-methods approach to the study of religion, Shariʿa and Life fills a gap in the literature. The book presents an interesting examination of the European Council of Fatwa and Research, suggesting that it has not been an efficacious body for developing European fatwa. Uriya Shavit and Fabian Spengler offer a useful analysis of the council and its future, as well as the possibilities for thinking beyond the wasati-salafi approach to Islam in Europe."" - Anver M. Emon, Professor of Law and History and Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Toronto, and Canada Research Chair in Islamic Law and History"


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