Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women: Amazon.ca: Khaled Abou El Fadl: Books

Product Description

This challenging new book reviews the ethics at the heart of the Islamic legal system, and suggests that these laws have been misinterpreted by certain sources in an attempt to control women.

About the Author

Khaled Abou E1-Fadl studied Islamic Law in Egypt and Kuwait, and has from Pennsylvania, Yale and Princeton. Currently Professor of Law at UCLA, he has served on a variety of committees for Human Rights, and has published several books and numerous articles.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Spirit of Balance, May 30 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women (Paperback)

Although I do agree with the previous review (the one by Sean W. Anthony) in that this book is completely engrossing, I do not agree with much else that he writes. Unlike the previous author's characterization of the work as "awkward" and one in which Islamic and Western elements "remain unmixed like oil and water" I actually think the book seamlessly navigates both the Islamic and Western traditions with great ease. Unlike some previous western Muslim intellectuals the author does not use the Islamic tradition, as he himself put it, "as a text upon which to continue a debate about Western epistemology (pg. 133, fn. 8)." The author uses Western categories as conceptual constructs to further delineate the specific dynamic within the Islamic context that he happens to be discussing. A concrete example of this can be found on his preliminary discussion on the nature and working definition of authority (pgs. 18-23). After discussing the various definitions offered by Western intellectuals for the concept of authority, the author does not simply choose one and forcibly attempt to fit classical Islamic discourses into the paradigm he has picked. Rather the author criticizes the various definitions discussed and offers a concept of religious authority that is consistent with the Islamic tradition. He does this by introducing the elements of trust and moral persuasion into the relationship between one considered an authority and a layperson within a tradition. With that said, I would also like to add that it would also be unjust to describe the contents of this book as only relevant to Muslims. At a certain level this book is a universal discourse about the normative place of authority and the abuses of that authority in any religious tradition, especially ones that are centered on what are considered to be divinely-inspired texts. Unfortunately the previous reviewer seems to have missed both points.

At a general level this book was thoroughly exhilarating. It was a profound and moving inquiry into the very logic (daruriyaat 'aqliyyah) of a number of foundational dynamics that are presumed in an individual's and a collective's encounter with the Divine as primarily expressed in a central text, though not exclusively so. The author expresses many times that God reveals God's self through a variety of indicators outside of the text. His discussion of the conscientious objector, the need for a systematic inquiry into one's moral presumptions even before beginning the textual journey, and analysis of the rational necessities presumed in the search for the Divine Will, give just weight to these other indicators and will help open up the field of Islamic law to other daring scholars. The author's examination of the places of the author, reader, text, interpretive community, interpretive tradition, and language in the dialectics involved in the search for what God wants from us resonates with one's very core. If the hallmark of Islam is "balance," then it is this spirit of balance and temperance, which exude and personify this work throughout. Perhaps this text can and hopefully will ignite an intellectual and cultural revolution in the Muslim world. Perhaps we will once again take the search for God and God's way as seriously as we once used to.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Arm yourself with true knowledge. Read this book., Nov 18 2002

By

Sarah Bonne (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women (Paperback)

This brilliant book is the antidote to the stupefying, mind-numbing, Wahhabi rhetoric that is killing the soul of Islam today. If you want to understand how to concretely argue in favor of a moral Islam, and how to answer back to the ridiculous, anti-human and counter-intuitive claims of the so-called "true Islam" that is so popular in mosque-culture today, then this book will educate and liberate you. There is something for everyone in this book. For the hard core scholars and wanna be scholars, the first few chapters will make your head spin with meticulous detail, analysis and other good brainiac food. The methodology presented for establishing Islamic authenticity is powerful and intuitively rational--great stuff! For those who just want to enjoy some very satisfying discussion, argumentation and refutation of the stupid stuff that never made any sense (ie., why women can or cannot wear bras, high-heels, go to graveyards, drive cars, etc.), the last few chapters and appendices are excellent! The appendices translate amazing and shocking Saudi legal opinions, and argue and apply the author's methodology to demonstrate why they can or cannot work. It is fine to jump to the back chapters if you are not interested in the "fine print". This is such an important work--it is the hope for change and a renaissance, to get out of the dark place that Muslims are in today.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Abou El Fadl's Authoritarianism, May 27 2003

By

Ahmed K. Sultan Salem (Stanford) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women (Paperback)

Despite competently hitting the bull's eye in several locations, Dr. Abou El Fadl commits the same crime he is trying to expose and fight. Whenever it is in his interest, he fails to discharge the 5 obligations which he proposes for establishing persuasive authority, namely: honesty, self-restraint, comprehensiveness, diligence, and reasonableness. His mentioning, for example, of the inquisition of the createdness of the Quran is disingenuous. No one can claim that the createdness of the Quran implies its circumstantiality, and thus the right to supercede it. After reading the book, I wondered about the plight of the Muslims trapped between the authoritarianism of Abou El Fadl and the authoritarianism of the Wahabbis....

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Book!!
What Mr. El Fadl has done in this book is nothing short of extraordinary. His project is to first explain to the reader how the Islamic jurisprudential system works: this is the... Read more

Published on Dec 16 2003 by David Kirchner II

1.0 out of 5 stars AtheistWorld.Com Book Review
This book leaves out much to be desired.
You are better off reading "Islam Exposed" by Solomon Tulbure ISBN: 1932303456

Published on July 31 2003 by AuthorZone.Com Book Review