Shaikh's Review of Contesting Justice

Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law and Society; Reviewed by Khanum Shaikh, University of California, Los Angeles

In Contesting Justice, Ahmed Souaiaia offers an innovative examination of the link between social justice and the Islamic interpretive and legal tradition. The author’s main argument is premised on the need to maintain a clear-cut distinction between what are explicitly stated legal proofs within Qur’anic texts, and those that are implicit and ambiguous and have been given meaning through human interpretation…

…All in all, the author’s efforts at combining a theoretical approach and practical methodology are commendable and very welcome efforts for scholars, students, and practitioners of Islamic law and human rights. At times Souaiaia’s efforts to navigate multiple terrains may compromise the clarity of his message as the reader works her way through claims that oscillate between the generalized and the specific, the discipline-bound and the interdisciplinary, modern discourses on human and women’s rights and fiqh-based rulings on specific issues, etc. Overall, however, this work may serve as a useful and practical tool for academics and practitioners alike… read the rest of the review


Excerpt from the Review written for Journal of Middle East Women's Studies