Living Sharia ─ Law and Practice in Malaysia

Drawing on ethnographic research, Living Sharia examines the role of sharia in the sociopolitical processes of contemporary Malaysia. The book traces the contested implementation of Islamic family and criminal laws and sharia economics to provide cultural frameworks for understanding sharia among Muslims and non-Muslims. Timothy Daniels explores how the way people think about sharia is often entangled with notions about race, gender equality, nationhood, liberal pluralism, citizenship, and universal human rights. He reveals that Malaysians’ ideas about sharia are not isolated from—nor always opposed to—liberal pluralism and secularism.

Living Sharia will be of interest to scholars as well as to policy makers, consultants, and professionals working with global NGOs.

Timothy P. Daniels is professor of anthropology at Hofstra University. He is the author of Islamic Spectrum in Java and Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia, and editor of Performance, Popular Culture, and Piety in Muslim Southeast Asia.