Muslim Heritage Series
This series explores vital themes in the civilisations of Islam – including the nature of religious authority, ethics and law, social justice and civil society, the arts and sciences, and the interplay of spiritual and secular lifeworlds. In keeping with the Institute’s mandate, the series is informed by the plurality of communities and interpretations of Islam, as well as their locus in modernity and tradition.
Why is the term shari‘a - the mention of which conjures up images of a politicised religion in many parts of the world - understood in the ways that it is today? For Muslims and non-Muslims alike, much is read into this term, often with scant regard for its historical, cultural or theological underpinnings. The politics of identity has a profound effect on contemporary life, both secular and religious, and this includes our understandings of the shari‘a. Yet at the core of this concept, for Muslims, is the quest for...