The Sociology of Shari’a: Case Studies from around the World

Adam Possamai is Associate Professor in Sociology and is the current President of Research Committee 22 on the Sociology of Religion from the International Sociological Association. James T. Richardson, J.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno and will be the President elect of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religions from October 2012. Bryan S. Turner is the Presidential Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Committee on Religion at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and concurrently the Director of the Centre on Religion and Society at the University of Western Sydney.

1. Introduction: Legal Pluralism and Shari'a, Bryan S. Turner and Adam Possamai.- Part 1. Case Studies from Muslim Majority Countries.- 2. One State, Three Legal Systems: Social Cohesion in a Multi-ethnic and Multi-religious Malaysia, Shamsul, A. B.- 3. Modern Law, Traditional 'Shalish' and Civil Society Activism in Bangladesh, Habibul Haque Khondker.- 4. Semi-Official Turkish Muslim Legal Pluralism: Encounters between Secular Official Law and Unofficial Shari'a, Ihsan Yilmaz.- Part 2. Case Studies from Muslim Minority Countries.- 5. Soft Authoritarianism, Social Diversity and Legal Pluralism: The Case of Singapore, Bryan S. Turner.- 6. The Philippine Shari'a Courts and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, Isabelita Solamo-Antonio.- 7. Shari'a and Muslim Women's Agency in a Multicultural Context: Recent Changes in Sports Culture, Helen McCue and Ghena Krayem.- 8. Shari'a Law in Catholic Italy: A Non-agnostic Model of Accommodation, Vito Breda.- 9. Trial and Error: Muslims and Shari'a inthe German Context, Wolf D. Ahmed Aries and James T. Richardson.- 10. Between the Sacred and the Secular: Living Islam in China, Yuting Wang.- 11. The Case of the Recognition of Muslim Personal Law in South Africa: Colonialism, Apartheid and Constitutional Democracy, Wesahl Domingo.- Part 3. Theoretical and Comparative Considerations.- 12. The Constitutionalization of Shari'a In Muslim Societies: Comparing Indonesia, Tunisia And Egypt, Arskal Salim.- 13. Legal Pluralism and the Shari'a: A Comparison of Greece and Turkey.- Bryan S. Turner and Berna Zengin Arslan.- 14. Contradictions, Conflicts, Dilemmas, and Temporary Resolutions: A Sociology of Law Analysis of Shari'a in Selected Western Societies, James T. Richardson.- 15. Perception of Shari'a in Sydney and New York Newspapers, Adam Possamai, Bryan Turner, Joshua Roose, Selda Dagistanli and Malcolm Voyce.- 16. Profiting from Shari'a: Islamic Banking and Finance in Australia, Salim Farrar.- 17. Shari'a and Multiple Modernities in Western Countries: Toward a Multi-faith Pragmatic Modern Approach Rather Than a Legal Pluralist One? Adam Possamai.- 18. The Future of Legal Pluralism, Bryan S. Turner and James T. Richardson.

"Richardson and Turner may claim that sociological accounts of pluralism's various forms constitute theories that help explain the shape and perhaps even the future course of such accommodations. ... an excellent point of entry for any student of contemporary Islamic law and a helpful corrective for any who think that the way Islamic law has been working out in a country with which they are familiar is the way it must develop everywhere." (Lawrence Rosen, Contemporary Islam, Vol. 10, 2016)