Sharī`a and ‘natural justice’: the implementation of Islamic criminal law in British India and colonial Nigeria

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 2009
Host editors
  • A. Christmann
  • J.-P. Hartung
Book title Islamica: studies in memory of Holger Preißler (1943-2006)
ISBN
  • 9780199589975
Series Journal of Semitic studies. Supplement, 26
Pages (from-to) 127-149
Publisher Oxford: Oxford University Press
Organisations
  • Faculty of Humanities (FGw) - Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR) - Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA)
Abstract Whenever colonial powers took over Muslim territory, sharī`a criminal law was abolished and replaced by Western style penal codes, modified to fit the colonial situation. There are, however, two exceptions: British India (until 1861) and colonial Nigeria until independence. Here sharī`a criminal law was left in force with some adaptations and under the control of the colonial authorities. This article analyses why this was done and how sharī`a was applied in practice.
Document type Chapter
Language English
Downloads
Peters_Sharia_-_natural_justice.pdf (Final published version)
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