This multidisciplinary volume explores the role of Islamic law within the dynamic processes of postcolonial transformation, nation building, and social reform. Here, eleven international scholars examine Islamic law in several contemporary sociopolitical contexts, focusing specifically on Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, China, Tunisia, Nigeria, the United States, and the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The contributors also address the entanglement of Islamic law and ethics with the history of Muslim religious discourses, shifts toward modernity, gender relations, and efforts to construct exclusive or plural national communities. Sharia Dynamics, at once enchanting and enlightening, is a must-read for scholars of contemporary Islam.

Timothy P. Daniels is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Hofstra University, USA. 

1. Introduction: Sharia Dynamics and the Anthropology of IslamPART ONE: SHARIA AND DISCURSIVE TRADITION2. Fatwa, Discursivity, and the Production of Sharia3. Fatw¿s on Mohamed Bouazizi¿s Self Immolation: Religious Authority, Media, and Secularization4. Sharia Law and Muslim Ethical Imaginaries in Modern Indonesia PART TWO: SHARIA, STATE, AND SOCIETY5. Sharia in China: Compromising Perceptions6. Interplay of Sharia Projects: Between Ketuanan Melayu, Islam, and Liberal Rights in MalaysiaPART THREE: SHARIA AND GENDER7. Gendered Accounts of Expertise within Islamic Finance and Financialization in Malaysia8. The Difficulty of Accounting for Women Who Critique Sharia in Northern Nigeria9. Islamic Movements, Women, and Social Reform: Who Speaks of the Sharia in Pakistan?PART FOUR: SHARIA AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM10. You Are Not a Muslim: Ahmadiyya Exclusion and Sharia Interpretation in Pakistan11. Anwar and Maqasid: Forging a Muslim Democracy12. A Veneer of Unity? Islam and a Culture of Inclusion in Sabah