Muslim Families, Politics and the Law

Ralph Grillo is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex where he was formerly Dean of the School of African and Asian Studies and founding director of the Research Centre for Culture, Development and the Environment. Although he has also written on the anthropology of development and the anthropology of language, he has had a long-standing concern with transnational migration and ethnicity in Africa and Europe. Since the mid-1990s he has focused on cultural diversity and its governance in France, Italy, and the UK. Increasingly this has involved working with anthropologists, lawyers and political scientists on issues relating to cultural and religious diversity and the law in Europe and North America, with a particular interest in the ’legal industry’ which has grown up around Islam.

'In this book Ralph Grillo undertakes a careful and nuanced dissection of much of the current controversy around Muslim families and gender roles in Britain. He exposes the multiple layers of argument and public discussion about a subject which has become surrounded by obfuscation and double standards. While focusing on Britain this book has implications for similar discussions elsewhere in Europe, while drawing on his anthropological expertise from outside Europe. If politicians and journalists would take note of Ralph Grillo’s insights, one might hope for a more reasoned public debate.' Jørgen S. Nielsen, Hon. Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 'This book, written by a leading scholar of cultural diversity, will be essential reading for academics and policy makers as well as all those who want to accurately understand some of the most controversial public debates about Muslim families in the Western liberal democracies.' Maleiha Malik, King's College University of London, UK ’The growing visibility of Islam in Europe is giving rise to a very disparate range of reactions. Focusing predominantly on family law, an issue that touches directly on personal identity, Ralph Grillo illustrates how this debate rarely reflects the necessary nuance; rather, it is often presented in the starkest of terms, with virulent opposition to any form of legal accommodation of Muslim practices. This approach feeds social anxiety and intensifies tensions, and can ultimately lead to violence. Grillo’s careful analyses of such incendiary arguments, drawn from recent events, reveal his genuine commitment to countering islamophobic tendencies in Great Britain.’ Marie-Claire Foblets, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany ’Dealing with Muslim family law is not just a legal industry, it enters a political minefield in contestations over the right law in multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multi-cultural Britain. This daring book by a mature scholar brilli

• Chapter 1 Cultural Diversity and the Law; Chapter 2 The Spectre of Shari’a; Part I Politics and the Muslim Family; Chapter 3 Marriage; Chapter 4 Arranged and Forced; Chapter 5 Divorce; Chapter 6 ‘The Muslim Woman’ and Gender Relations; Part II Baroness Cox’s Bill; Chapter 7 The Bill (2011–14); Chapter 8 The Bill’s Supporters; Chapter 9 Ayes to the Right; Chapter 10 For, Against, in the Middle; Chapter 11 Islamophobia?; Chapter 12 Towards Constructive Dialogue?; Chapter 13 Concluding Reflections;