Overview

How do Islamic courts work? What sorts of cultural understandings inform judicial process and litigants' strategies? How do women's claims fare? Do these courts promote social tolerance? And how do states use them to consolidate power, build nations and shape a modern citizenry? These are among the questions addressed in this book, which not only enhances our understanding of diversity among and within the world's Muslim communities, but also provides ethnographic, historical and transnational perspectives on contemporary Islam in the shifting landscape of a strategically important region of the world. Focusing on Malaysia, which has sustained more rapid development than probably any other Muslim nation, Michael Peletz explores the culture, political economy and history of Islamic courts. He demonstrates that they are centrally involved in the creation and policing of new Malay-Muslim identities (such as middle-class urban dwellers) that the state sees as the basis for a national polity that will be highly competitive. He also shows how and why Islamic courts are key sites in struggles involving ethnic and religious groups, social classes, political parties, and others with a major

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael G. Peletz
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Volume:   11
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.652kg
ISBN:  

9780691095073

ISBN 10:   0691095078
Pages:   368
Publication Date:   01 December 2002
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Replaced By:   9780691095080
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock  

Language:   English

Table of Contents

LIST OF MAPS ix LIST OF TABLES xi FOREWORD xiii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv NOTE ON SPELLING, TERMINOLOGY, AND CURRENCY xix INTRODUCTION 1 Background and Context Methods PART ONE: THE CULTURE, POLITICAL ECONOMY, AND HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC COURTS 23 CHAPTER ONE: Locating Islamic Magistrates and Their Courts in History 25 Islamic Magistrates, Islamic Courts, and Islamic Law through the 1830s Colonial Representations of Islamic Magistrates and Their Courts, 1840s-1880s The Reorganization and Rationalization of the Courts, 1890s-1980s CHAPTER TWO: The Work of the Courts 64 Background and Setting Domains and Jurisdictions Operations The Cultural Logic of Judicial Process CHAPTER THREE: Litigant Strategies and Patterns of Resistance 128 Women's Strategies and Experiences Men's Strategies and Experiences Patterns of Resistance and Oppositional Discourses PART TWO: MODERNITY AND GOVERNMENTALITY IN ISLAMIC COURTS AND OTHER DOMAINS 193 CHAPTER FOUR: Reinscribing Authenticity and Identity 195 What's There and What's Not: The Said, the Unsaid, and the Unwritten Reinscribing Authenticity and Identity Rationalization and Resistance Revisited CHAPTER FIVE: Producing Good Subjects, Asian Values, and New Types of Criminality 239 A Note on Gender Pluralism, Transgender Practices, and the Long Duree Narratives of Asian Values and the Rise of Social Intolerance New Types of Criminality: Azizah, Anwar, and Beyond CONCLUSION: Islam, Modernity, and Civil Society 277 Kinship Matters in the Dialectics of Civil Society and the State Back to the Malaysian Future NOTES 291 GLOSSARY OF FREQUENTLY USED MALAY TERMS 305 BIBLIOGRAPHY 307 INDEX 327

Reviews

The author's ethnography is incredibly thorough and rich in detail, which distinguishes this volume among contemporary treatments of Muslim legal systems. Peletz undoubtedly establishes a new standard here... Islamic Modern stands out as a masterful integration of rich ethnography and important themes from contemporary social theory. -- Peter Mandaville International Sociology In a brief review it is impossible to convey the rich texture of the material and style of an impressive amount of research over many years. Unquestionably, this volume supercedes the only previous attempt in English ... in understanding the intersection between the legal, ethical, moral, and customary domains of Muslim family law at the community level. -- Judith Nagata Pacific Affairs [Peletz's] evidence is vividly presented. Consequently, this will be a valuable book for cross-cultural comparison for the contribution it makes both to legal anthropology and to understanding the articulation of Islamic values in contemporary settings. -- C.W. Watson Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

Author Information

Michael G. Peletz is W. S. Schupf Professor of Anthropology and Far Eastern Studies in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Colgate University. He is the author of A Share of the Harvest and Reason and Passion and coeditor (with Aihwa Ong) of Bewitching Women, Pious Men .

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