Muslim Family Law in Sub-Saharan Africa: Colonial Legacies and Post-Colonial Challenges offers comparative historical, anthropological and legal perspectives on the ways in which French and British colonial administrations interacted with the diversity of Islamic legal schools, scholars, and practices in Africa. The authors examine how the colonial impress marks Islamic legal practices in Africa and its impact on the post-colonial and contemporary periods. Several chapters document the experiences of Muslim citizens in some African states in their bid to have Islamic law, particularly family law, recognized. A substantial introduction sets the individual essays in a comparative framework of Islamic legal scholarship in an era of colonialism by contrasting and comparing vital questions as they occur in the African context.

Author Biography

Shamil Jeppie is associate professor in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Cape Town|Ebrahim Moosa is associate professor in the Department of Religion, Duke University|Richard Roberts is professor in the Department of History, Stanford University.