In this new study, the author examines sijills, the official documents of the Ottoman Islamic courts, to understand how sharia law, society, and the early-modern economy of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ottoman Cairo related to the practice of custom in determining rulings. In the sixteenth century, a new legal and cultural orthodoxy fostered the development of an early-modern Islam that broke new ground, giving rise to a new concept of the citizen and his role. Contrary to the prevailing scholarly view, this work adopts the position that local custom began to diminish and decline as a source of authority. These issues resonate today, several centuries later, in the continuing discussions of individual rights in relation to Islamic law.

The origins of citizenship and individual rights in the Sharia courts of sixteenth-century Cairo

About the Author
Reem A. Meshal is assistant professor of Islamic Studies at Louisiana State University. She has published numerous articles on Islamic social and intellectual history.


Book Information
ISBN 9789774166174
Author Reem A. Meshal
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint The American University in Cairo Press
Publisher The American University in Cairo Press
Weight(grams) 719g