Islam, Law and the Modern State

Arif A. Jamal is Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law where he teaches comparative law, legal theory, law and religion, and Islamic law. He has studied and researched in law, politics and Islamic studies in Canada, the UK and the USA, and writes on issues of law and religion, comparative law and law in Muslim contexts.

'This path-breaking study on comparative public law confirms that the globalisation of debates about the relationship of law and religion allows today a profound, sensible re-assessment of plurality-conscious ‘justice as discourse’. Truly liberal theories of justice can indeed be reformulated and contextually applied to include Muslim concepts. An argumentative masterpiece!'Prof. Emeritus Werner Menski, SOAS University of London, UK'In a time of political Islamic reductionism, when the plural experience of Islam is at risk of being reduced to a dogmatic monolith, Jamal’s book invites Muslims to engage with liberal theories of justice not as the passive recipients of Western ideas, but as the active innovators of the local and global polity.'Professor Marco Ventura, University of Siena, Italy'This is a highly commendable and fresh contribution to the debates on the relationship between Islam and the Modern State; proposing a much needed third way apart from a theocracy or an anti-religious secular state. A well researched and highly recommended read.'Professor Mashood A. Baderin, SOAS University of London, UK

• Introductioni. The challengeii. The structureiii. The approachiv. The contribution and the argumentChapter 1: Developing the concept of ‘justice as discourse’1.1 The challenge of diversity: liberal theory’s normative commitment1.2 Alternatives to Rawls’ theory1.3 Constructing a theory: justice as discourse1.4 Justice as discourse versus some alternatives1.5 ConclusionChapter 2: Justice as discourse in application2.1 Justice as discourse and classical liberal theory2.2 Justice as discourse and the Secular2.3 Implementing justice as discourse: the axes of state, law, civil society and politics2.4 ConclusionChapter 3: Muslim Contexts I: History and heritage3.1 Why use the term ‘Muslim contexts’?3.2 What is the same, and what is different, about Muslim contexts?3.3 The politico-legal legacy3.4 Conclusion and lessons from the heritageChapter 4: Muslim Contexts II: Contemporary contexts4.1 Re- working the law: replacement, codifications and ‘etatization’4.2 The nexus of Din, Dunya and Dawla: religion, politics and the state – divided?4.3 Contemporary opinions in Muslim populations4.4 Prospects for democracy?4.5 ConclusionChapter 5: Terms of engagement: (re)imagining religion, law, state and society for Muslim contexts5.1 Challenges to the uses of liberal theory5.2 Defining a practical political model5.3 The bridge from politics to law: Menski’s kite5.4 The overall argument and conclusionConclusion