Islamic Courts Research Articles

Cows, Charcoal, and Cocaine: Al-Shabaab’s Criminal Activities in the Horn of Africa

Contrary to historical terrorism scholarship, terrorist groups can strategically diversify into a variety of criminal activities without losing their core ideology or support among the civilian population. This pattern is demonstrated by the evolutionary arc of al-Shabaab, which grew from a small subset of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union to the most violent political actor in the Horn of Africa, able to conduct terrorist attacks as far afield as Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Al-Shabaab has been highly successful in creating a narrative of truth and justice provision while simultaneously exploiting the Somali population and engaging in criminal activity. For the group, criminal activity and crime networks serve two primary purposes: as a funding mechanism and as an avenue for recruitment. Using ethnographic fieldwork and process tracing, I find that the group’s criminal activities throughout the Horn of Africa have made the group significantly more resilient to counterterrorism and counterinsurgency campaigns, extending both its lifespan and operational capability.

Islamic Epistemology and Its Relations to Scientific Method in Islamic Law of Evidence

Islam as a comprehensive religion has put forth the idea regarding epistemology in its own framework. The discourse of sources of knowledge is a part of epistemology scope. Islam recognized four sources of knowledge consist of revelation, intuition/inspiration, rational and empirical method. The last (empirical method) relates closely to the scientific method which is a method of investigation in which a problem is first identified, and observations, experiments, or other relevant data are then used to construct or test hypotheses that purport to solve it. In Islamic law, circumstantial evidence is a kind of evidence which is applied and accepted in Islamic court proceeding despite some jurist did not strongly emphasize its reliability compare to confession and testimony of witnesses. This writing aims at putting forward the importance of circumstantial evidence in Islamic law through an epistemological perspective that has to do closely with the scientific method. This is the way how Islam appreciates and avails of the development of science and technology for enhancing justice as the main principle in Islamic law.

Kepastian Hukum Eksekusi Dan Pembatalan Putusan Arbitrase Syariah Dalam Perspektif Politik Hukum

This study examines two main problems which are, firstly, to describe the juridical construction of granting the authority to execute and to annul an sharia arbitration award in the perspective of legal policy. Secondly, to provide the better alternatives for the development of national law in the future. This is a normative legal research, which studies the written legal sources to be analyzed by using both the statutory and conceptual approach. Through this study, it was concluded that first, legally, the granting of authority to carry out the execution and the annulment of the sharia arbitration award is still affected with dualism, which could lead to legal uncertainty. Second, it is necessary to synchronize the legislation regarding the authority to execute and to annul the sharia arbitration award to ensure the legal certainty, so that it will not conflict with one another. In the future, the execution and annulment of sharia arbitration should be placed in the Islamic Court, as they both apply the sharia principles.

Economic Harbingers of Political Modernization: Peaceful Explosion of Rights in Ottoman Istanbul

Although radical institutional reforms that redistribute wealth usually involve violence, peaceful transformations are not unknown. This paper explores the conditions under which fundamental rights expand without major resistance. The empirical context is the start of the Ottoman modernization drive, which is typically attributed to visionary officials and pressures they faced from foreign powers. Fundamental roles were played, we show, by prior shifts in wealth toward indigenous Christians and away from conservative groups, including Muslim clerics. These shifts, all under way in the 1700s, motivated Ottoman political leaders to begin, with the Gulhane Edict of 1839, to dismantle traditional institutions grounded in Islamic law and imperial customs of governance. Despite its far-reaching provisions, the edict generated only minor pushback, because it addressed widespread and chronic grievances, legitimated ongoing trends, and offered Muslim political elites, who had been losing ground, opportunities to catch up with rapidly prospering local Christians. The data, which come from Istanbul’s Islamic courts, point to changes in the sectarian wealth distribution, as measured by the founding of waqfs (Islamic trusts) and ownership of equities known as gediks. Evolving differences in sectarian economic opportunities and outcomes allow the tracking of changes in political preferences in a context where records of parliamentary votes and shareholder instructions are nonexistent.

The Domestication of Al-Shabaab

ABSTRACTHow much influence did foreign fighters exert over al-Shabaab’s insurgency in Somalia? An emerging policy consensus is that foreign fighters exert decisive influence on insurgencies, even affecting conflict duration, intensity, and outcomes. Nevertheless this study argues that foreign combatants in Somalia have exerted a more limited influence than this consensus suggests, though this influence has varied over time. Foreign fighters were present within al-Shabaab from its inception, and remain a part of the group over ten years later. Over this period, non-Somali combatants enjoyed the most influence during the insurgency against Ethiopian forces between 2007 and 2008, when al-Shabaab was a young organization facing a superior enemy. Over time, foreign fighters’ influence within the insurgency in Somalia diminished as al-Shabaab became “domesticated,” i.e. gained controlled of territory and began to govern. This study examines four periods in recent Somali history: the Islamic Court Union’s rise pre-2006, the Ethiopian invasion from 2007 to 2008, al-Shabaab’s territorial conquests from 2009 to 2010, and the internal divisions and purge from 2011 to 2013. This article concludes with a word of caution on the growing perceptions that foreign fighters shape insurgencies and that their involvement significantly helps or hurts local opposition movements. In the case of al-Shabaab’s insurgency in Somalia, transnational insurgents shaped external actors’ calculus in ways that have affected the conflict’s duration, intensity, and even outcomes, but they did not have a commensurate impact within the insurgency.

Judicial Practice in Distribution of Inheritance (mīrāth) in Islamic Courts in Nigeria

Inheritance is one of the issues that has attracted the attention of many Islamic jurists. Although it has been regulated in fiqh books, the distribution of inheritance has the potential to cause disputes. This paper examines the legal framework governing distribution of inheritance under Islamic law as interpreted in Islamic courts in Nigeria. The paper analyses decided cases in constructing the judicial practice in distribution of estates among heirs in Islamic courts in Nigeria from commencement to conclusion of such distributions. This research is a legal normative study using judicial case and conceptual approaches. The paper concludes that Islamic courts in Nigeria adhere strictly to the Maliki school in the matters concerning distribution of inheritance.

SISTEM PERADILAN ISLAM

Today, Islam is not sufficiently known as iqtisad (the Islamic banking system) which is now quite the belle of this beloved pancasila earth, but along with that Islam is also known as the administration of justice and its ability to protect people's rights which is then called the sharia court. The person most responsible for implementing this Islamic court is the caliph and qadhi (judge). The Caliph carries out Islamic laws and applies them to all the people while the judge takes Islamic decisions based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Because in the teachings of Islam do not submit the determination of justice to the will on the basis of human taste but the authority to make the law is only Allah SWT, the Creator of man and the All-Knowing about the human self

Terrorism and its Negative Effects on Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Al-Shabaab

In contemporary times, the most pressing issues threatening the tranquility and global stability, particularly in Africa, are the heinous activities of terrorist groups. The word “terrorism” caught the world’s attention through the 9/11 incident, although it has been in existence for centuries. There have been numerous definitions for the act of terrorism, yet there is no universally approved definition which is accepted by all countries. This article, therefore, seeks to elucidate terrorism from different perspectives and also elaborate on its causes as well. Most importantly, this article focuses on Al-Shabaab as a violent extremist group with an emphasis on their background, their violent activities, the recruitment process as well as their source of funding. Additionally, their interconnection with the Al-Qaeda group will be dealt with as well as how terrorism has negatively affected a lot of people through the spread of violence, fear, and instability throughout the regions of Africa. The Al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia is considered amongst the deadliest militant groups across the continent of Africa, after the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria. Some of the heinous activities carried out by this Al-Shabab terrorist group comprises of intimidation, bombing, suicide attacks, kidnapping, and gunfire of unarmed innocent citizens both within and outside Somalia. The inception of Al-Shabaab was as a result of the power vacuum that was created in 1991 after the warlords were unsuccessful in bringing into being any governance system during the fall of the last Somalia central government. Owing to this power vacuum fabricated, it has therefore empowered the Islamic court's leaders to assume informal authorities in some parts of south-central Somalia. Despite the fact that the Islamic court defeated these warlords, they were eventually defeated on the grounds of a national security threat by Ethiopian forces invading Somalia.

Hukum Keluarga Islam Dalam Potret Interrelasi Sosial

Islamic Family Law has been studied for long time in many Faculties of Sharia. The need of establishing the Faculties itself was due to the existing social need: producing judges for Peradilan Agama (Islamic Court). It may be true, because of that reason the tendency of studying Islamic Family Law is almost going “no where”. The core of the study is running on the redundant condition. This writing tries to present an alternative sample to minimize redundancy. At the same time, the writing supports and strengthens the need for empirical legal research by using and correlating the law to social sciences. The substance of the writing describes the correlation between Islamic Family Law and some social factors in a comparative modelDOI: 10.15408/ajis.v15i1.2846

Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts Edited by Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale

Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts Edited by Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale

“It is Your Right to Buy a Divorce”: Judicial Khuluu in Zanzibar

AbstractJudicialkhuluu(<Ar.khulʿ) in Zanzibar differs from judicialkhulʿin Arab countries that have recently introduced it through legislative reform. In Zanzibar’s Islamic courts,khuluuis used primarily as a judicial mechanism for ending a marriage when a judge determines a wife to be responsible for the breakdown of the marriage. Zanzibari women rarely file forkhuluubecause it is expensive and is associated with a woman’s failure in her marriage. Herein, I explain why judges in Zanzibar regardkhuluuas a punitive measure that can be used to end a marriage when a woman is determined to be responsible for the marital discord, or when there are no grounds for judicial dissolution throughfasikhi(<Ar.faskh, annulment).I also show that judges viewkhuluuas a right that a woman can exercise to extricate herself from marriage, a right that judges sometimes encourage in court.

Revisiting Implementation of Treaties on Human Rights in The Islamic Court of Aceh, Indonesia: Compliance or Violation?

Revisiting Implementation of Treaties on Human Rights in The Islamic Court of Aceh, Indonesia: Compliance or Violation?

Khul‘ over the longue durée: the decline of traditional fiqh-based divorce mechanisms in Indonesian legal practice

AbstractIn this essay, I describe the historical development of three traditional fiqh-based divorce mechanisms in Indonesia that commonly result in a khul‘ divorce: regular khul‘ (khuluk), conditional divorce (taklik talak), and marital discord (syiqaq). In the practice of present-day Islamic courts these traditional fiqh-based divorce mechanisms have lost almost all of their former prominence. Through a historical analysis of legal practices of female-initiated divorce, I will explain how this happened. Legal reforms under the 1974 Marriage Law, their adoption into the 1991 Compilation of Islamic Law, and case law of the Supreme Court broadened women’s divorce rights significantly. The same reforms made out-of-court divorce illegal. In contrast to fiqh-based divorce mechanisms, judicial divorce on the grounds of ‘continuous and irreconcilable marital discord’ does not require the consent of the husband or the payment of compensation and has therefore become an easier and cheaper option for Indonesian women.

PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM TERHADAP ANAK KORBAN PEMERKOSAAN (ANALISIS DAMPAK PSIKOLOGIS TERHADAP PUTUSAN MAHKAMAH SYAR’IYYAH KOTA LANGSA)

The implementation of legal protection for child victims of rape has not been maximized as provided by the Law. Even though it has not been maximal, there are several forms of legal protection that have been given to children as victims according to Law Number 35 Year 2014 concerning Child Protection article 64 paragraph (3), that children as victims get (a) rehabilitation both within institutions and outside the institution , (b) identity protection and reporting efforts through the mass media to avoid labeling, (c) providing safety guarantees for witnesses of victims and expert witnesses both physically, mentally and socially, and (d) providing accessibility to obtain information about the development of cases. first, getting harmony between the theories used with legal decisions carried out by the Langsa City Islamic Court. Second, knowing the psychological impact of child rape victims and thirdly, the obstacles faced in deciding the rape of the rape are still different from the Law on Child Protection, meaning that there is still dualism in the laws that apply in Aceh, including in Langsa City.

Peran Peradilan Islam dalam Penegakan Hukum Islam di Kesultanan Buton

This article tries to reveal the existence of the Islamic Courts in the Sultanate of Buton to measure the extent of its role in the enforcement of Islamic Law in the past. History explains that when Islam entered the territory of Southeast Sulawesi, the kingdom of Buton changed its status to Buton Sultanate and applied Islamic law throughout the empire. Using historical approach, the researcher succeeded in revealing the fact that in the area of the past Sultanate of Buton, once stood two institutions of Islamic Court named Syarana Adati and Syarana Hukumu or Syarana Agama. The authority of Syarana Adati was to deal with criminal cases where as Syarana Hukumu or Syarana Agama took care of certain civil cases such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. Despite the separation of authority, the two institutions can be categorized as Islamic Courts because the legal system used as a backdrop was Islamic Law. The study also finds out that the two institutions play a significant role in the upholding of Islamic law in the past as they were supported by the kingdom, and a strong legal culture both among law enforcers and in the community

Maimonides and the Merchants: Jewish Law and Society in the Medieval Islamic World by Mark R. Cohen (review)

Reviewed by: Maimonides and the Merchants: Jewish Law and Society in the Medieval Islamic World by Mark R. Cohen Robert Brody Mark R. Cohen. Maimonides and the Merchants: Jewish Law and Society in the Medieval Islamic World. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2017. 248 pp. doi:10.1017/S0364009418000624 Mark Cohen's latest book focuses on the ways in which Maimonides's Mishneh Torah reflects the economic aspects of the society in which he lived, one in which—in contrast with the societies to which the authors of talmudic literature belonged—international trade and large-scale commercial enterprises filled a central role. Although I would count myself among those who tend, in Cohen's words, "to take the great codifier at his word when he insists in the Introduction to the Code and elsewhere that his work was simply a compilation … of rabbinic law up to his time and contained practically nothing new" (141), and would assert that this is an accurate characterization not only of Maimonides's view of himself but of the main thrust of his work, there is no doubt that his code includes some "updating" of talmudic law, an important aspect of which Cohen has revealed. In his opinion, Maimonides was motivated primarily by a desire to enable Jewish courts to deal satisfactorily even with cases not encompassed by earlier Halakhah in order to encourage Jewish merchants to settle their disputes in this framework rather than resorting to Islamic courts; this suggestion is plausible enough, although there is no direct evidence to support it (see inter alia pages 76, 94, and 101). The centerpiece of the volume is a study of Maimonides's treatment of a unique form of economic collaboration that predominated in the medieval Islamic world. Cohen calls this institution, which has been given various names by other researchers, şuḥba-agency. The essence of the arrangement is that each of two (rarely more) associates undertakes to execute without remuneration any commissions requested by his associate. Scholars who have written on the subject have often stressed the "informal" nature of this arrangement; Cohen, for example, emphasizes the fact that such an arrangement could be created orally, but in fact this was true of "formal" partnership agreements as well.1 In my opinion the most interesting features of this institution, from either an economic or a legal perspective, are two. First, when considered in isolation, each [End Page 458] commission executed by one associate on behalf of another appears to be a simple favor or act of friendship; it is only when the larger context is considered that the agent is seen to be compensated by the mutuality of the arrangement. Second, when merchants enter into a partnership they obviously cannot know in advance how much they will gain or lose as a result, but they do know that they are committing certain quantities of capital and labor and can expect to receive a given percentage of the profits or, at worst, to bear a certain percentage of the losses. In contrast, when they create a şuḥba-agency relationship neither partner has a clear idea of the obligations he is undertaking or the benefits he hopes to receive. The commissions he will be expected to perform on behalf of his associate and those that he will expect his associate to perform on his behalf will depend on future market conditions and economic opportunities. Nor was any effort made to set a financial value on the services that each associate performed on behalf of his colleague or to ensure that the exchange of unremunerated services was an equitable one. Cohen correctly emphasizes that Maimonides, like Saʿadiah Gaon a hundred and fifty years earlier, found a novel way to integrate this new sort of commercial arrangement into existing Halakhah, although it should be noted that neither author dealt explicitly with şuḥba-agency: each of them wrote in terms appropriate to a one-time commission, rather than a long-term and open-ended relationship.2 Saʿadiah's innovation was to treat the agent as a paid rather than an unpaid bailee; Maimonides's was to enable the merchant who commissioned the agent to impose an...

THE POLITICAL ORIGINS OF ISLAMIC COURTS IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES: THE CASE OF MALAYSIA

AbstractThe way in which Islamic courts and laws are developed and how religious legal apparatuses shape the relations between—and within—religious communities has been a common source of debate among scholars. This article analyzes the growing institutional power and authority of Islamic courts and judges in Malaysia since the late 1980s to contribute to this theoretical debate. Specifically, it compares two critical phases of institutional development of Islamic courts in Malaysia's largely secular judicial system: the first under the premiership of Mahathir Mohamad before the dismissal of his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim (1980–1998), and the second under the post-reformasi(reform) period (1999–present). Original data gathered at the Jabatan Kehakiman Syariah Malaysia (Department of Syariah Judiciary Malaysia) and other government and legal agencies, fieldwork, and semistructured interviews with Islamic and civil court officials both at the federal and state levels document the institutional expansion and administrative independence that the Islamic courts and judges have successively gained in relation to their civil counterparts. It is argued that the gradual bureaucratization of Islamic courts can best be explained with reference to the interests—and strategic coalitions—of politicalandreligious elites within the majority community to sustain a dominant regime and majoritarian rule based on communal identity.

Opposition to Israel’s first Qadiya

ABSTRACTIn 2017, following a fraught 22-year struggle, Israel appointed the first female judge (sing. qadiya, pl. qadiyat) to its Islamic (shari’a) courts. This contrasts with the earlier appointments of qadiyat around the world, most notably in the Palestinian Authority in 2009. The Israeli shari’a courts’ jurisdiction over family law, a field of law which engages in women’s issues, makes the introduction of qadiyat particularly salient. This article is among the first to focus academic research on the issue of qadiyat within Israel and is based on field interviews with practitioners and academic experts, as well as documentary primary and secondary sources. This article finds that the obstacles that delayed the appointment of Israel’s first qadiya were a manifestation of the political impact Muslim minority status had on the country’s Muslim and Jewish establishments.

Jihad & Co.: Black Markets and Islamist Power

Jihad & Co.: Black Markets and Islamist Power

Jihad & Co.: Black Markets and Islamist Power

Jihad & Co.: Black Markets and Islamist Power