LAW-2942 Islamic Law and Legal System
This course provides an introduction to Islamic law and Islamic legal history. A central aim is to provide students with sufficient background in the classical conception of law and the institutional context within which it formed so as to appreciate the radical transformations that Islamic law has undergone in the modern era. Attention will be given to the sources of jurisprudence, the emergence of differing "schools" of law, sectarian differences (e.g. Sunni and Shi'ite), and the fundamental changes that occurred during the transition to modernity, when nation states emerged throughout the Muslim world. Various domains of the positive law will be surveyed, including family law, criminal law, constitutional law, commercial law (including modern Islamic finance), and the laws governing international relations. Comparisons and contrasts will be made, as appropriate, to parallel concepts and phenomena within Roman as well as Anglo-American law. Paper required