Shattering Tradition: Custom, Law and the Individual in the Muslim Mediterranean (Islamic Mediterranean Series)

Few deny that in the Muslim world religion and law are intimately linked. However, local legal realities mean that Islamic law is often pushed out of the picture by customary law, which is usually tribal, and by state law. The three may at times produce similar or identical rulings and it is thus often difficult to identify which is at work under such circumstances. When the different legal systems clash, problems start to emerge. Shattering Tradition concentrates on customary law, which is the least investigated of the three and considers the ruptures and potential for conflict in Muslim law as well as the continuities and interactions. This groundbreaking series of empirical case studies investigates the varying ways in which different forms of law interrelate and it analyzes how the tensions between them are resolved in local settings. Shattering Tradition explores some of the ways in which the legal plurality of Islamic law, customary law and state law is dealt with in the societies of the Islamic Mediterranean. In Muslim societies religion and law are known to be intimately linked. While scholarly attention has been traditionally focused on Islamic law, all Muslim states have engaged in secular legislation and codification. Likewise, customary law has hitherto been neglected. This groundbreaking series of empirical case studies investigates the varying ways in which different forms of law interrelate and it analyses how the tensions between them are resolved in local settings.Walter Dostal and Wolfgang Kraus have brought together contributions that combine an interdisciplinary approach with a strong grounding in social anthropology. Dealing with different parts of the Islamic Mediterranean in the widest sense, they discuss diverse topics such as: codification processes in the Ottoman Empire from the fifteenth century onwards; urban market organisation and its historical evolution; the principles of tribal customary law in the southern Hijaz; traditional legal practice and its transformations under colonial rule in a Moroccan Berber tribe; conflict resolution in the silver market of Sana'a and the mediating role of saints in the Hadramaut.Shattering Tradition makes vital reading to all those interested in the social anthropology of the Middle East and the wider study of law throughout the Islamic Mediterranean. The Significance Of Customary Law In The Traditional Urban Market: A Contribution On The Administration Of Justice In The Pre-modern Arab World / Claudia Kickinger -- Early Ottoman Customary Law: The Genesis And Development Of Ottoman Codification / Yunus Koç -- Tribal Customary Law Of The Zahran Confederation In Southern Hijaz (kingdom Of Saudi Arabia) / Walter Dostal -- Tribal Law In The Moroccan High Atlas: Pre-colonial Legal Practice And Its Transformations / Wolfgang Kraus -- Women's Choices: Norms, Legal Pluralism And Social Control Among The Ayt Hdiddu Of Central Morocco / Ixy Noever -- Legal Regulation Of Moroccan Habous Under French Rule: Local Legal Practice Vs. Islamic Law? / Franz Kogelmann -- The Saints Of Hadramawt / Walter Dostal -- Regulations Of The Silver Market In San'a': On The Origins And Significance Of A Legal Document / Ronald Barghuti -- The Collapse Of The State And The Resurgence Of Customary Law In Northern Somalia / Federico Battera. Edited By Walter Dostal And Wolfgang Kraus. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 6 Contributors......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 1. The Significance of Customary Law in the Traditional Urban Market......Page 29 2. Early Ottoman Customary Law......Page 84 3. Tribal Customary Law of the Zahran Confederation in Southern Hijaz......Page 131 4. Tribal Law in the Moroccan High Atlas......Page 157 5. Women's Choices......Page 198 6. Legal Regulation of Moroccan Habous under French Rule......Page 217 7. The Saints of Hadramawt......Page 242 8. Regulations of the Silver MArket in San 'a'......Page 263 9. The Collpase of the State and the Resurgence of Cutomary Law in Northern Somalia......Page 287 Index......Page 328 Few deny that in the Muslim world religion and law are intimately linked. However, local legal realities mean that Islamic law is often pushed out of the picture by customary law, which is usually tribal, and by state law. Shattering Tradition concentrates on customary law, which is the least investigated of the three, and considers the ruptures and potential for conflict in Muslim law as well as the continuities and interactions. Shattering Tradition is vital reading for all those interested in the social anthropology of the Middle East and the wider study of Islamic law. It is a well-known fact that in Muslim societies there is an intimate link between religion and law.