Islam and the Everyday World

Public Policy Dilemmas

Edited by Sohrab Behdad, Farhad Nomani

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• ISBN: 978-0-415-36823-0
• Binding: Hardback (also available in Paperback)
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 21st September 2006
• Pages: 288

About the Book

This is a new examination of how Shari’a law affects public policy both theoretically and in practice, across a wide range of public policy areas, including for example human rights and family law.

The process by which public policy is decided - through elections, debates, political processes, and political discourse - has an additional dimension in the Islamic world. This is because Shari'a (divine law) has a great deal to say on many mundane matters of everyday life and must be taken into account in matters of public policy. In addition, matters are complicated further by the fact that there are differing interpretations of the Shari'a and how it should be applied to contemporary social issues.

Written by leading experts in their field, this is the first comprehensive single volume analysis of Islam and public policy in the English language and offers further understanding of Islam and its wider social and political implications.

Reviews

'This pioneering volume goes beyond formalistic analysis of Islamic states and standard discourses of public policy to underscore the actual significance and limitations of the influence of Islamist normative and legalist discourses on key areas of public policy in the Muslim world.'

- Jomo K. S., editor of Islamic Economic Alternatives

'Does Islamic Law affect public policy? The authors methodically uncover the complex interaction between religion and social change in the Muslim world.'

- Tarik Yousef, Shaykh Al-Sabah Chair in Arab Studies, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University

'The book contains valuable inputs for anyone interested in the area of siy:sa shar6iyya or Shar;6a-based public policy' -

Mohamed Aslam Haneef, Department of Economics International Islamic University Malaysia

'Islam and the everday world, consisting of eight chapters written by an array of specialists, attempts to discuss the problems that this dynamic creates over a spectrum of policy areas such as economics, banking, human rights, taxation, family, labor, and commercial law' - Khaleel Mohammaed, San Diego State University, Middle East Quarterly Summer 2008

Table of Contents

1. Islam, Revivalism and Public Policy 2. Ideology and Institutions in Islamist Approaches to Public Policy 3. Islamism and Economics: Policy Implications for a Free Society 4. Islamic Jurisprudence and Public Policy 5. Islam and Human Rights Policy 6. Women, Sexuality and Social Policy in Islamic Cultures 7. Muslim Family Law: Articulating Gender, Class and the State 8. Islam, Islamists, and Labor Law 9. Commercial Law: The Conflict in Shari'a and Secular Law; Taxation and Public Finance 10. The Problem of Interest and Banking in Islamic Public Policy

About the Author(s)

Sohrab Behdad is Professor and John E. Harris Chair in Economics, Denison University, and is a former member of the faculty of Economics, Tehran University, Iran.

Farhad Nomani is Professor of Economics at the American University of Paris, and is a former member of the Faculty of Economics, Tehran University, Iran.

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