Governing Islam
Law, Empire, and Secularism in Modern South Asia

Stephens argues that encounters between Islam and British colonial rule in South Asia were fundamental to the evolution of modern secularism.

Julia Stephens (Author)

9781316626283, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 June 2018

232 pages, 2 b/w illus. 1 map
22.7 x 15.2 x 1.1 cm, 0.39 kg

'Governing Islam is an important addition to the disciplines of South Asian legal history, both for its important contributions to legal archival research during the British colonial period as well as for its study of Islamic economics.' Daniel Waqar, Reading Religion

Governing Islam traces the colonial roots of contemporary struggles between Islam and secularism in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The book uncovers the paradoxical workings of colonial laws that promised to separate secular and religious spheres, but instead fostered their vexed entanglement. It shows how religious laws governing families became embroiled with secular laws governing markets, and how calls to protect religious liberties clashed with freedom of the press. By following these interactions, Stephens asks us to reconsider where law is and what it is. Her narrative weaves between state courts, Islamic fatwas on ritual performance, and intimate marital disputes to reveal how deeply law penetrates everyday life. In her hands, law also serves many masters - from British officials to Islamic jurists to aggrieved Muslim wives. The resulting study shows how the neglected field of Muslim law in South Asia is essential to understanding current crises in global secularism.

List of maps and figures
Acknowledgments
Note on translation, transliteration, and abbreviations
Introduction
1. Forging secular legal governance
2. Personal law and the problem of marital property
3. Taming custom
4. Ritual and the authority of reason
5. Pathologizing Muslim sentiment
6. Islamic economy – a forgone alternative
Conclusion
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Legal history [LAZ], Islam [HRH], Asian history [HBJF]