The enduring jurist: qazis, courts and living shari'a in modern India

伊斯兰法律在现代穆斯林社会中的持久性在当代学术界和公共生活中仍然是一个广泛讨论和争议的问题。谁有权就伊斯兰法律的要点作出决定，这些法令如何实施？在渴望成为世俗、多元化国家的现代国家中，伊斯兰法律如何才能得到遵守？印度拥有世界第二大穆斯林人口和最大的穆斯林少数民族，是思考这些问题的重要焦点。这个项目考察了从19世纪末到现在的一个漫长的历史时代，探索了现代南亚伊斯兰教对法律和法律权威的理解。这个项目不再强调政府立法和主导法律历史的“正式”法律来源，而是用乌尔都语等语言展开了一系列关于穆斯林法律在穆斯林日常生活中的意义和实践的白话讨论。例如，穆斯林如何辩称，在穆斯林统治垮台并强加给英国权力后，宗教法律可以得到保留？也许最重要的是，在一个殖民和后殖民的国家法院都声称对穆斯林法律事务拥有管辖权的时代，谁有权就伊斯兰法律问题发表意见？这个项目关注的是乌拉马人，这是有学问的伊斯兰学者和法律专家的传统阶层。这个项目聚焦于上个世纪运作的一些穆斯林神职人员和宗教组织，考察了这些宗教专业人士如何在被正式剥夺了法学家和法官的角色后，继续声称对影响印度穆斯林的法律问题拥有持续的控制权。他们努力维护其持续的法律权威，包括扩大和正规化释放法令(法令)，在印度各地建立非政府伊斯兰法院网络，并在特定法律问题上在不同方面向印度政府施加压力，无论是离婚、收养还是赡养费。这种认为穆斯林宗教领袖作为法律顾问和实践者保持了不朽地位的论点，对于我们理解伊斯兰教的法律实践和司法权威，以及我们对印度次大陆法律和宗教之间的历史关系的认识，都具有深远的影响。该项目的主要学术成果将包括一本关于现代印度穆斯林‘法官’思想的专著，以及关于颁发教令和根据伊斯兰法律保护妇女权利的相关问题的文章。然而，该项目的当代相关性将使其能够与印度和英国的媒体、政策论坛和非政府组织进行多次接触。首先，该项目将有助于当代关于印度穆斯林妇女权利的讨论。我将与印度最重要的伊斯兰女权主义联盟之一印度穆斯林马希拉·安多兰合作，组织一场题为《伊斯兰教法与印度妇女权利：现代问题与现代解决方案》的研讨会。这一倡议将寻求确定影响当今穆斯林妇女的相关法律问题，并制定决议，然后为穆斯林社区内妇女权利活动家的工作提供信息。其次，在后期阶段，该项目将寻求将印度穆斯林法律的日常现实与英国等其他穆斯林少数群体社会的现实进行比较。印度和欧洲国家关于伊斯兰教法委员会的会议将在不同的背景下对这些机构进行评估，还将启动一些学者、律师和政策制定者之间关于这一复杂问题的讨论和交流。

The endurance of Islamic law in modern Muslim societies remains a heavily discussed and controversial issue in contemporary academia and public life alike. Who has the right to make decisions on points of Islamic law, and how can such edicts be implemented? How can Islamic laws be observed within modern states which aspire to be secular, pluralist nations? With the world's second largest Muslim population and its largest Muslim minority, India makes an essential focal point for considering these questions.Examining a long historical era from the late-nineteenth century until the present, this project explores understandings of law and legal authority within modern South Asian Islam. Turning away from an emphasis on government legislation and 'formal' legal sources which have dominated much legal history, this project uncovers a range of vernacular discussions, in languages such as Urdu, about the meaning and practice of Muslim laws in the everyday lives of Muslims. How, for instance, did Muslims argue that religious laws could be preserved after the fall of Muslim rule and imposition of British power? Perhaps most importantly, who had the authority to speak on issues of Islamic law, in an era when the courts of state, both colonial and postcolonial, claimed jurisdiction over Muslim legal affairs?This project focuses upon the 'ulama, the 'traditional' class of learned Islamic scholars and legal specialists. Focusing upon a number of Muslim clerics and religious organisations functioning during the last century, this project examines how, despite being formally divested of their roles as jurists and judges, these religious professionals have continued to claim ongoing command over legal questions affecting Indian Muslims. Their efforts to assert their continued legal authority include expanding and formalising the release of fatwas (edicts), setting up a network of non-government shari'a courts across India, and imposing pressure upon the Indian government at various points on particular legal issues, whether divorce, adoption or alimony. This argument that Muslim religious leaders have preserved an enduring status as legal consultants and practitioners has profound implications for our understanding of legal practice and judicial authority within Islam, and also for our knowledge of the historical relationship between law and religion in the Indian subcontinent. This project's major academic outputs will include a monograph on the idea of the Muslim 'judge' in modern India, as well as articles on the related questions of the issuing of fatwas and of the protection of women's rights under Islamic law. However, the contemporary relevance of this project will allow a number of engagements with the media, policy forums and non-governmental organisations, both in India and Britain. First, the project will contribute to contemporary discussion of Muslim women's rights in India. In partnership with one of India's most significant Islamic feminist alliances, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, I will organise a workshop entitled 'Shari'a and women's rights in India: modern questions and modern solutions.' This initiative will seek to identify pertinent legal questions affecting Muslim women today and formulate resolutions, which will then inform the work of women's rights activists within Muslim communities. Second, the project will in its later stages seek to compare the everyday realities of Muslim laws in India with those in other Muslim minority societies, such as Britain. A conference on shari'a councils in India and European nations will assess these institutions in different settings, and will also initiate discussion and exchange between a number of academics, lawyers and policy-makers on this complex issue.