Understanding Sharia Processes: Women’s Experiences of Family Disputes, Farrah Ahmed and Ghena Krayem

Abstract

This book is a welcome addition to the existing literature on Muslims practising sharia in the West. The authors, Professor Farrah Ahmed (University of Melbourne Law School) and Associate Professor Ghena Krayem (University of Sydney Law School) provide new empirical data to explore the experiences of Australian Muslims in their engagement with sharia processes in Australia. The book consists of seven chapters, preceded by a foreword by Professor Julie Macfarlane (Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Canada)1. Macfarlane values the importance of this book in bringing to the fore the voices of women and their perspectives of Islamic family law processes, often associated with gender stereotypes and patriarchal practices. Macfarlane rightly identifies the insider approach used for this research as a suitable model to examine groups and communities that reside within a dominant community without ‘othering’; to understand differences, their beliefs and values; whilst acknowledging similarities shared with the wider society, such as marital strife and domestic violence. The foreword concludes by reiterating the problems of male dominance and the assumption about women’s roles which are not associated with the Muslim faith alone being present in other religious and cultural processes and even the courts.