Sharī‘a and State Law

Abstract

The growing numbers of Muslims in the West have ignited a debate about the compatibility of Sharī‘a with state law. The present article explores the issue from a historical perspective by providing a brief survey of Islamic legal history. It specifically focuses on the interaction of Sharī‘a with the English legal system in colonial India. The main argument of the article is that during its long history, Sharī‘a co-existed with the ruler’s law (siyāsa) and customary law (‘urf). It was formally incorporated into the structure of the state with the active participation of Muslim legal commentators, judges, lawyers, politicians, and the ‘ulamā’ in colonial India. The incorporation of Sharī‘a into the state law was facilitated through the transplantation of legislative and hierarchical judicial institutions, which provided venues for a legal discourse among various stakeholders. Historical evidence suggests the feasibility of incorporating Sharī‘a into state law in Western democratic countries.