ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 presents the historical developments and organisational structure of the FCNA with the intent of demonstrating the institutional trajectory of Islamic law in America. Some fatwās are also analytically examined with the intent of ascertaining the Islamic legal methodology that is espoused by the FCNA. In this regard, the concept of fiqh al-aqalliyyāt is identified as an influential legal methodology when the institution engages with complex problems, so this concept is explained to clarify how it is put into practice by the FCNA. The political, legal, cultural and social context in which American Muslims live is occasionally presented with the intent of displaying its influence upon the fatwās. While outlining the specific context of American Muslims, their dual identity (American and Muslim) emerges as one of the precise factors that the FCNA takes into consideration. The issues that confront American Muslims on account of their dual identity induce the FCNA to pursue a reconciliatory approach that hybridises Islamic legal norms and American legal regulations. Some fatwās are therefore analysed to display this reconciliatory approach, along with the interaction between Islamic legal methodologies and the American context.
