Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA2132: Islamic Law and Society

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

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
27	123	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 and 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 and 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	15	Workshop presentation
Guided Independent Study	40	Reading
Guided Independent Study	68	Research for essay and class

Online Resources

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

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Hallaq, Wael, An Introduction to Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2009), ISBN 978-0521861465
Neilsen, Jorgen (ed.) Sharia as Discourse (Routledge, 20016) 0754679551

Peters, Ruud and Bearman, Peri, Ashgate Companion to Islamic Law (Ashgate 2014), ISBN 9781409438939

Vikor, Knut, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law (Oxford University Press, 2007) ISBN 0195223985

Further Readings:
Brown, Daniel, Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought (Cambridge University Press, 1999), ISBN 978-0521653947
Nik, Norzul Thani et al., Law and Practice of Islamic Banking and Finance (Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia : Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2008), ISBN 9839088769
Hallaq, Wael, Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 2001), ISBN 978-0521803311
Hallaq, Wael, The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005), ISBN 978-0521005807
Ray, Nicholas Dylan, Arab Islamic Banking and the Renewal of Islamic Law (London ;Boston : Graham & Trotman, 1995), ISBN 978-1859661048
Saeed, Abdullah, Islamic Thought: an Introduction (Routledge, 2006) ISBN 978-0415364096
Vogel, Frank, Islamic Law and Finance: Religion, Risk and Return (The Hague ;Boston : Kluwer Law International, c1998), ISBN 978-9041106247
Weiss, Bernard, The Spirit of Islamic Law (University of Georgia Press, 2006), ISBN 978-0820328270

Journals
Journal of Islamic Law and Culture
Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law
Islamic Law and Society