Fiqh al-Aqalliyy?t

This book examines the development of a contemporary internal debate among Muslim minorities living in Western Europe and North America to establish a specific form of Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh al-aqalliyyat attempts to strike a balance between Muslim's religious commitments and their civic identity as citizens in Western liberal states.

"The book is a significant addition to the growing literature on Islamic law in secular contexts, particularly on Muslim minorities. Recent studies on migration, minority rights and multiculturalism began showing interest in ongoing debates on Shari'a and its relevance in Europe and America. The book offers important insights into how the Muslims living in liberal democracies responded to the challenges to their conception of law, religious conventions and cultural values. Unlike other studies that treat Muslim minorities as extension of Muslim societies in their countries of origin, the book explores the making of Minority Islamic Law as an independent school with its own rules and principles. There were mainly two authoritative sources of advice available for Muslims in the West: Saudi dar al-Ifta and al-Azhar. The author offers a detailed analysis of these advices and shows how these questions and answers helped developing what is now known as Fiqh al-Aqalliyat. The book also studies al-Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Taha Jabir al-Alwani as two architects of this legal development. This study will be warmly welcomed by policy advisors, students, teachers, lawyers and judges interested in Shari'a debates, Muslim societies in the West and Islamic legal modernism." - Muhammad Khalid Masud, Judge Shariat Appellate Bench, Supreme Court of Pakistan

Said Hassan is a visiting assistant professor at Arabic and Islamic Studies Department, Georgetown College, Georgetown University