Heaven on Earth

A Journey Through Shari‘a Law

Sadakat Kadri

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Paperback

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English

Vintage
02 January 2013

Social & cultural history; Religion & beliefs; Islamic studies; Islamic law

Almost 1400 years after the Prophet Muhammad first articulated God's law - the sharia - its earthly interpreters are still arguing over what it means. Hardliners reduce it to amputations, veiling, holy war and stonings. Others say that it is humanity's only guarantee of a just society. Here, Sadakat Kadri sets out to see who is right. Travelling the Islamic world, he encounters a cacophony of legal claims. At the ancient Indian grave of his Sufi ancestor, unruly jinns are exorcised in the name of the sharia. In Pakistan's madrasas, stern scholars ridicule his talk of human rights and demand explanations for NATO drone attacks in Afghanistan. In Iran, he hears that God is forgiving enough to subsidise sex-change operations - but requires the execution of Muslims who change religion. All Muslims are guided by the sharia - whatever their interpretation of it - and the stories of compulsion and violence are just part of a much bigger picture. Many of Islam's first judges refused even to decide cases for fear that a mistake would damn them, and scholars from Delhi to Cairo maintain that governments have no business enforcing faith. In this illuminating and important book, Sadakat Kadri draws on Islam's past and present to show us why.

By: Sadakat Kadri
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 245g
ISBN: 9780099523277
ISBN 10: 0099523272
Publication Date: 02 January 2013
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , General/trade , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari‘a Law

[A] lively, yet scholarly, book... Kadri is an ideally positioned guide * Daily Telegraph * First-rate * Guardian * Erudite and instructive * The Times * Greatly enriches our understanding of a much misunderstood subject * Sunday Times * Brilliant and illuminating -- Boris Johnson * Mail on Sunday *