JusticeState:IslamicTradition

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Popular cultural depictions of Islam and its legal and theological traditions are often cartoonish. “Islamic law” is presented as a theocratic regime where the literal word of scripture is applied unthinkingly as an act of zealous devotion. This course will dispel these myths by tracing the development of Islamic legal traditions, their interaction with a greater moral theology, and the contentious relationship between the state and ʿulamāʾ in contestations over legal authority.