An Introduction to Islamic Law LAWS 6518 Tue,Thu 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM WOLF 207 Hamid M. Khan Adjunct Professor, University of Colorado Law School McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP hkhan@mckennalong.com Hamid.Khan@colorado.edu INTRODUCTION Islamic law, also known as Shariah, is one of the oldest systems of law of the contemporary age. With over 1.5 billion adherents, Islamic law is part of the laws of nearly 60 nations and plays a vital role in the conduct of all Muslims. This course introduces students to the Islamic Law by giving them a firm grounding in the principles, concepts and terminology. We begin by examining the Formative Era of Islamic Law, through its sources and methodologies. Next, we examine the Established Era of the Schools of Law including the differences between Sunni and Shiite Islamic Law. Finally, we examine several substantive areas of Islamic law, including human rights, terrorism, political Islam, women s rights and rights of religious minorities, criminal law, and finance law and pay special attention to the growing role of fundamentalism in these areas of law. We conclude by examining the relevance of Islam and Islamic Law in today s world. No previous familiarity with the field is necessary and there are no course prerequisites. The final grade will be calculated as follows: Attendance & Class Participation: 20% Final Exam: 80% GRADING The foregoing class is governed by the Law School s Honor Code which is predicated on the premise that the study and teaching of law in an academic setting is an integral part of the legal profession. Students and Faculty engaged in that activity, therefore, do so as members of the legal profession, and they recognize the need to maintain a high level of professional competence and integrity in their work.
REQUIRED TEXTS THE QUR'AN, M. A. S. Abdel Haleem (Trans.)(2008) - [This translation only.] Reza Aslan, NO GOD BUT GOD: THE ORIGINS, EVOLUTION, AND FUTURE OF ISLAM (2006) Bernard G. Weiss, THE SPIRIT OF ISLAMIC LAW, (2006) Wael B. Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO SUNNI USUL AL-FIQH (1999) & Reading Packet of Selected Readings. SCHEDULE You are responsible for all readings absent a clear indication to the contrary. This means being ready to demonstrate familiarity with their main points and discuss them critically, raise questions about them and respond to questions. The foregoing syllabus is aspirational in nature and there may alterations or deviations from time to time. I. The Formative Era: The Classical Sources and Their Interpretation Week 1: Introduction; the Life of the Prophet and the Origins of Islam Aslan, NO GOD BUT GOD, pp. xiii-170. Weiss, THE SPIRIT OF ISLAMIC LAW, pp. 1-23. Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES, pp. 1-35. Week 2: The Classic Sources of Law, Part I: The Qur an Aslan, NO GOD BUT GOD, pp. xiii-170. Khaled M. Abou El Fadl, THE GREAT THEFT: WRESTLING ISLAM FROM THE EXTREMISTS, (2007) pp. 126-141. THE QUR AN: Suras 5, 70-114. Weiss, THE SPIRIT OF ISLAMIC LAW, pp. 24-65. Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES, pp. 36-82. 2
Week 3: The Classic Sources of Law, Part II: The Hadith and Sunnah Excerpts from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim - (TBD) [Noted Compilations of the Prophetic Tradition] Weiss, THE SPIRIT OF ISLAMIC LAW, pp. 66-87 Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES, pp. 36-82. Week 4: The Source-Intonated Constructs: The Doctrines of Qiyas and Ijma Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES, pp. 83-124; 162-206. THE QUR AN (TBD). II. The Era of Establishment: The Rise and Fall of the Schools of Law and the Schism Over Interpretation Week 5: The Rise of the Schools of Law Excerpts from Christopher Melchert, THE FORMATION OF THE SUNNI SCHOOLS OF LAW, 9TH-10TH CENTURIES C.E (1997), pp. 175-206. Muhammad ibn Idris al-shafi'i and Majid Khadduri, AL-SHAFI'I'S RISALA : TREATISE ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE, (1993) pp. 40-48. Rudolph Peters, What Does it Mean to Be an Official Madhhab? Hanafism and the Ottoman Empire, in Bearman, et al., THE ISLAMIC SCHOOL OF LAW, pp. 147-158. Momen, AN INTRODUCTION TO SHI I ISLAM, pp. 32-47; 68-86; 156-157. Arif Jamal, Principles in the Development of Ismaili Law, in YEARBOOK OF ISLAMIC AND MIDDLE EASTERN LAW, vol. 7 (2001), at pp. 115-121. Devin Stewart, ISLAMIC LEGAL ORTHODOXY: TWELVER SHIITE RESPONSES TO THE SUNNI LEGAL SYSTEM, (2007), pp. 45-59. Week 6: The Fall of the Schools of Law and the Failure of Interpretation Weiss, THE SPIRIT OF ISLAMIC LAW, pp. 113-144. Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES, pp. 207-254. Excerpts from Laleh Bakhtiar and Kevin Reinhart, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAMIC LAW: A COMPENDIUM OF THE MAJOR SCHOOLS (1996). (TBD). 3
III: The Modern Era and Islamic Fundamentalism Week 7-8: Revivalism Reformism and Its Impact on Islamic Law THE QUR AN (TBD). Hallaq, A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL THEORIES, pp. 207-254. Aslan, NO GOD BUT GOD, pp. 220-266. Weiss, THE SPIRIT OF ISLAMIC LAW, pp. 145-171. Antony Black, THE HISTORY OF ISLAMIC POLITICAL THOUGHT: FROM THE PROPHET TO THE PRESENT, pp. 18-30; 39-48. John L. Esposito, VOICES OF RESURGENT ISLAM, pp. 67-94; 175-189. Week 9: Examining Modern State Systems of Islamic Law Clark Benner Lombardi, STATE LAW AS ISLAMIC LAW IN MODERN EGYPT (2006), pp. 47-73; 123-140. Aslan, NO GOD BUT GOD, pp. 171-193. Mottahadeh,Wilayat al-faqih, in Esposito, ed. OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE MODERN ISLAMIC WORLD Arjomand, THE TURBAN FOR THE CROWN: THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAN, pp. 147-173. Ayoytallah Ruohallah Khomeini, ISLAM AND REVOLUTION, pp. 55-81, 136-141, 147-149. Fareed Zakaria, THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM: ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY AT HOME AND ABROAD, pp. 119-159. IV: The Post Modern Debate Week 10: Women s Rights and International Law El Fadl, SPEAKING IN GOD'S NAME: ISLAMIC LAW, AUTHORITY AND WOMEN (2001) (TBD). Excerpts from Ann Elizabeth Mayer, ISLAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS, TRADITION AND POLITICS, (1995). (TBD). Hans Kühn, ISLAM, pp. 551-577. 4
El Fadl, THE GREAT THEFT, pp. 250-274 Excerpts from Hamid M. Khan, Nothing is Written: Fundamentalism, Revivalism, Reformism and the Fate of Islamic Law 24 MICH. J. INT L L. 273 (2003) (TBD) Week 11: The Law of War, Jihad and Fundamentalism Majid Khadduri, THE ISLAMIC LAW OF NATIONS, (2001), pp. 1-22, 130-138 (optional - 35-56 and 60-67). Feisal Abdul Rauf, WHAT'S RIGHT WITH ISLAM (2006), pp. 143-148. Week 12: Islamic Criminal & Finance Law Lippman, Mathew, McConville, Sean & Yerushalmi, Mordechai, ISLAMIC CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE, AND INTRODUCTION. (1988). pp. 37-113. Mills, Paul S, & Presley, John, R., ISLAMIC FINANCE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (1999), pp. 1-33; 73-100; (101-111 optional). Week 13 & 14: The Relevance of Islam and Islamic Law Today Lisa Miller, American Dreamers (NEWSWEEK, JULY 30, 2007), pp. 24-33 Excerpts from Bernard Lewis, THE CRISIS OF ISLAM: HOLY WAR AND UNHOLY TERROR, (2004) (TBD) Excerpts from John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM:? WHAT A BILLION MUSLIMS REALLY THINK, (2008) (TBD) FINAL EXAM: TBD DN:32144698.1 5