Abstract
The chapter examines how different societies and states in Africa have used sharīʿa to regulate aspects of social life. In much of Africa, sharīʿa has been a part of daily life for centuries. However, sharīʿa has always coexisted with other legal orders, modes of legal thought, and legal processes. Today, modern African states that incorporate sharīʿa into legal systems also draw on European legal rules, codes, and procedures and make provisions for customary norms and practices. The chapter considers sharīʿa in the early historical period, then moves to sharīʿa in the colonial period, and finally explores the ways in which modern states have differently incorporated sharīʿa into state legal systems. The final section of the chapter looks at contemporary challenges regarding sharīʿa in Africa.
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Stiles, E.E. (2020). Sharīʿa Law in Muslim Africa. In: Ngom, F., Kurfi, M.H., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45759-4_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45759-4_11
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