Islamic Law in Past and Present

Mathias Rohe, Dr. iur. (19 ), University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, is professor of Civil Law, Private International Law and Comparative Law and Head of the Erlangen Centre for Islam and Law in Europe. He has published numerous monographs, book chapters and articles on Islamic law based on several field studies in various countries.

“As Mathias Rohe illustrates in this magisterial survey, Islamic law has not historically been either regressive or especially rigid. Literalism, so often associated with simplistic religious interpretation, was not even an option for early Muslim jurists, because orthodoxy has always held that God’s message to the Prophet Muhammad evolved gradually over two decades…. Rohe’s analysis, here and throughout, is measured – in keeping with a hope he expresses to steer clear of both ‘trivialisation and demonisation’ –and should therefore only be welcomed.” SADAKAT KADRI in: Ecclesiastical Law Journal (2017)