Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3132: Islamic Law and Society

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

You will learn the basics of Islamic law in different fields ranging from family law to criminal law. It will acquaint you with the various theoretical underpinnings of Islamic law. You will also learn how Islamic law is applied in different countries. The module has been developed for lawyers and will focus on the development of legal skills and expertise which will be relevant in the professional world. The main aim of the module is indeed to empower those of you who are not familiar with Islamic law with the competence to understand the meaning of Islamic legal terms and documents.

The module is recommended to anyone who wishes to learn the basics about Islamic law, from a practitioner or an academic perspective. The accent will be set on developing a critical stance to the existing legal documents, courts’ approaches and academic commentaries.

There is no pre-requisite or co-requisite to take this module, and is recommended for inter-disciplinary pathways

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate an understanding of this specialist area of law by applying relevant knowledge of Islamic law to argue persuasively during seminars and in assessments; 2. select and exemplify rules of Islamic law to analyse and apply accurate commentary on given situations 3. appraise issues pertaining to the enforcement of Islamic law in various contexts by contrasting and selecting solutions, applying those to previously unseen cases;
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. assess legal situations and case law with a professional eye in order to advise clients or judges; 5. demonstrate critical understanding of comparative and alternative frameworks for analysing legal problems; 6. recognise and deploy contrasting legal and ethical arguments;
Personal and Key Skills	7. demonstrate problem-solving skills and be able to identify key issues to analyse them logically and be competent in making reasoned choices or reaching a conclusion based on the given facts. 8. assess and compare information from relevant sources to demonstrate an in depth knowledge of current affairs, with an aim to evaluate the content in class and during seminars 9. research and analyse independently and in a group.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction to Islamic law: What is Islamic law? Sources of Islamic Law
Philosophy of Islamic law and Islamic Legal Thought -Classic Islamic Law
Pre-Modern Reform, Colonialism and Modernity - Islamic Law and State Legislation
Islamic Legal Thought: Past and Present
Legal Institutions: Courts and Procedure
Contracts and Torts
Islamic Criminal Law
Islamic Marriage and Divorce Law
Islamic Inheritance Law
Islamic law and Muslim Communities in the West
Islamic legal revivalism and its consequences

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
28	122	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activity	24	Lectures and small group discussion/seminars, with use of ELE support materials. Interactive lectures, 2 hours per week, will provide students with guidance through key theories and foster critical commentary, alone or in group.
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activity	3	Workshops: 1 hour three times a term. For each seminar, students are required to work independently and/or as a group on oral presentations based on specific issues regarding Islamic Law. Issues for consideration, discussion and debate are provided in the module hand out. Students are required to engage in independent research
Guided independent study	122	Independent study: workshop preparation (15 hours); reading (40 hours); research for essay, and class (68 hours)

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).