Debating Shariah

With Muslims living in Western cultures still hopeful about the possibilities of finding shared cultural and social values in Europe and North America while the majoritarian communities respond skeptically, Korteweg (sociology, U. of Toronto, Canada) and Selby (religious studies, Memorial U. of Newfoundland, Canada) suggest that it is up to the majoritarian communities to find mutually acceptable ways to adapt to Islamic beliefs in the realms of civil law and culture as they present 12 papers exploring competing ideas surrounding the prospective place of Islamic law within Western civil traditions. Many of the papers begin their analysis from the jumping off point of the controversy that erupted when an Ontario-based Muslim organization announced it would offer Sharia-compliant arbitration of family affairs within the already existing structure of the laws then governing arbitration in Ontario, Canada. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)