Islam, Culture, and Marriage Consent

This book presents an empirical examination of consent-seeking among Pashtun Muslims in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), to determine whether cultural norms and beliefs have largely come to diverge from the principles of consent in Islamic law and jurisprudence. Is culture part of the 'inevitable decay' to which Max Müller says every religion is exposed? Or - if rephrased in terms of the research encapsulated within this book - are cultural beliefs and practises the inevitable decay to which Islam has been exposed in Muslim societies?

Drawing on interviews with Muslims in Pakistan and Australia, the research broadly broaches questions around the rights of women in Islam and contributes to a wider understanding of Muslim social, cultural, and religious practices in both Muslim majority nations and diaspora communities. The author disentangles cultural practices from both religious and universal legal principles, demonstrating how consent seeking in Pashtun culture generally does not reflect the spirit or the intent of consent as described in Hanafi law and jurisprudence. This research will be of interest to students and scholars across sociology, anthropology, socio-legal studies, and law, with a focus on Islamically-justified law reform in Muslim nation states.

Hafsa Khan Pirzada completed her undergraduate in Law, before undertaking her doctoral research in the interplay between culture and Islam. She is currently a Research Fellow at Griffith University, Australia.

Auteur

Hafsa Khan Pirzada completed her undergraduate in Law, before undertaking her doctoral research in the interplay between culture and Islam. She is currently a Research Fellow at Griffith University, Australia.

Contenu

PrefaceAcknowledgments

CONTENTS

List of Tables

List of Abbreviations

Interviewee Codes

A Note on Date Format and Transliteration

Introduction

The Study: Undertaking 'Islamic' Legal Research with a 'Normative' Legal Framework

PART I MARRIAGE, CULTURE, AND THE LAW

Marriage in Islam: Consent-Seeking in Hanafi Jurisprudence

PART II FINDING THE DIVERGENCES BETWEEN CULTURAL PRACTISE AND ISLAM

Law in Context: Pashtun Culture and 'Secular' Laws in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Findings on Consent: Pashtun experiences with Consent

Findings on Shura: A story of 'shame' in Pashtun culture

Findings on Guardianship: Where have all the fathers gone?

PART III IMPLICATIONS, CONSEQUENCES, AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Understanding the Divergences: The Legal Implications of Divergence between Law and Culture Effecting Change: Is it Possible to Bring Cultural Practise and Legal Rights Together?

Final Remarks