Doctoral Dissertation Research: Islamic Law and the Negotiation of Authority in the Colonial State

SES：0617385.PI：Michael W.McCannco-Pi：Iza HussinAbstrant伊斯兰法律的政治：殖民地国家的权威和谈判在过去的一个半世纪里，伊斯兰教发生了根本性的变化。伊斯兰教法一直是其变革的一个主要场所和引擎。在几乎每个穆斯林国家实行的伊斯兰法律制度，已经从一套未经编纂的、地方管理的、具有广泛管辖权的法律机构和法律，转变为一种以法典为中心、主要管辖家庭和个人身份法的国家制度。对穆斯林来说，这一变化是不朽的，将伊斯兰法律降格为婚姻、家庭、宗教捐赠和继承的领域，同时总体上重新定义了伊斯兰教和国家权威之间的关系。这项研究的主要问题是：伊斯兰法律的经典提法是一个包罗万象的、由法官仲裁的地方具体制度，它是如何成为现在大多数穆斯林国家中的国家控制和有限的省的？这个项目的假设是，在大多数情况下，伊斯兰法律的这种显著变化始于殖民国家。然而，这不仅仅是殖民者强加的，它是当地精英和殖民官员之间复杂互动、斗争和谈判的产物。此外，帝国管理的特殊结构和动机导致了这个不断演变的国家对伊斯兰法律的特殊命名，以家庭、个人地位、种族认同和‘私人’领域为中心。通过对三个不同的穆斯林法律体系的比较：印度、马来亚和埃及，它们都在英国帝国的控制下，这个项目将重新解释伊斯兰法律在现代民族国家的制定。英国殖民代理人将伊斯兰法律和帝国宗教管理的思想从印度带到了马来亚和埃及；在马来亚，法律制度和法律与20世纪初在印度发展起来的法律非常相似，但在埃及，穆斯林个人身份法律的编纂和制度化在另一个半个世纪里没有发生，即使在那个时候也有很大的不同，部分原因是奥斯曼帝国和法国统治的遗产。对这些案例的比较(通过英国、马来西亚、新加坡的档案研究，以及对埃及和印度的二次研究)将有助于解释后殖民穆斯林世界的伊斯兰法律如何以及为什么会发生变化。这项研究将依靠官方记录、法庭文件以及非官方文件，包括旅行者的账户、信件和其他媒体。这些数据将提供一种观点，认为伊斯兰法律具有地方性、高度政治性和丰富多彩的多样性。对中东、南亚和东南亚的伊斯兰法律进行比较以前从未进行过，这将显著增强目前对伊斯兰教和现代穆斯林国家的理解。此外，这种跨地区的比较使人们能够将伊斯兰法律研究作为一种跨国产品，而不是当地政治网络塑造的阿拉伯出口产品。虽然殖民主义和马来社会的历史涉及马来精英和英国殖民官员之间的互动，但没有关于他们在法律方面的互动的研究；也没有任何关于殖民地和地方精英如何划分伊斯兰教管辖权的广泛研究，这种划分产生了什么影响，以及这种划分是否或如何得到维护。在所有这些方面，这个项目挑战了普遍认为伊斯兰法律是铁板一块的流行观点。最近在伊拉克、阿富汗和许多穆斯林国家发生的宪法和法律争议表明，对伊斯兰法律政治的深入理解的必要性从未像现在这样大。在对穆斯林国家和社区的核心动态普遍存在误解的时候，对当代伊斯兰教的基础进行系统研究的必要性从未像现在这样迫切。此外，这项研究将为重新解释前英国殖民地和可能也可能是非英国殖民地的后殖民法律发展的遗产提供基础。最后，我们的研究将有助于将全球各地的学者、法律专业人士、政策制定者和活动家的当地社区联系起来。

SES: 0617385.PI: Michael W. McCannco-PI: Iza HussinABSTRACTThe Politics of Islamic Law: Authority and Negotiation in the Colonial StateIslam has changed radically in the last century and a half. A major site and engine of its transformation has been Islamic law. The system practiced as 'Islamic law' in almost every Muslim state has changed from an uncodified and locally administered set of legal institutions and laws with wide-ranging jurisdiction to a codified, state-centered system with jurisdiction mainly over family and personal status law. For Muslims, this change was monumental, relegating Islamic law to the province of marriage, the family, religious endowments and inheritance while generally re-defining the relationship between Islam and state authority. The major question of this research is: how did Islamic law, whose classical formulation is as an all-encompassing, judge-arbitered and locally specific system, become the state-controlled and limited province it now is in the majority of Muslim states? The hypothesis of this project is that, in most cases, this remarkable change in Islamic law began in the colonial state. It did not simply occur as an imposition by colonizers, however; it was an outgrowth of complex interactions, struggles and negotiations between local elites and colonial officials. Further, the particular structure and motivation of imperial administration led to a particular designation for Islamic law in the evolving state, centered on family, personal status, ethnic identity and the 'private' domain.Through a comparison of three different Muslim legal systems: India, Malaya and Egypt, which all came under British imperial control, this project will reinterpret the making of Islamic law in the modern nation state. British colonial agents took ideas of Islamic law and the imperial administration of religion from India to both Malaya and Egypt; in Malaya legal institutions and law closely resembled laws developed in India by the early 1900s, but in Egypt the codification and institutionalization of Muslim personal status law did not occur for another half-century, differing significantly even then, partly due to the legacy of Ottoman and French rule. A comparison of these cases (through archival research in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore and secondary research on Egypt and India) will help explain how, and why, Islamic law in the postcolonial Muslim world varies. The study will rely both upon official records, court documents, as well as unofficial documents, including travellers' accounts, letters and other media. These data will offer a view of Islamic law as locally specific, intensely political, and richly varied.A comparison of Islamic law across the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia has not been previously undertaken and will enhance significantly current understandings of Islam and the modern Muslim state. Moreover, this cross-regional comparison allows the study of Islamic law as a transnational product, rather than an Arab export, shaped by local political networks. While histories of colonialism and Malay society have dealt with interactions between Malay elites and British colonial officials, there has not been a study of their dealings with regard to law; nor has there been any extensive work on how colonial and local elites divided jurisdiction over Islam, what effects that division had, and if or how it was maintained. In all these ways, this project challenges the prevailing popular view of Islamic law as a monolith. Recent constitutional and legal controversies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many Muslim states demonstrate that the need for deeper understanding of the politics of Islamic law has rarely been greater. At a time when misunderstanding of the core dynamics of Muslim states and communities is prevalent, the need for systematic study of the underpinnings of contemporary Islam has rarely been more pressing. This study will, moreover, provide the basis for reinterpreting the legacies of post-colonial legal development in both formerly British and, possibly, non-British colonies. Finally our research will help to connect local communities of scholars, legal professionals, policymakers, and activists across the globe.