by Khaled Abou El Fadl
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Product Description
This challenging new book reviews the ethics at the heart of the Islamic legal system, and suggests that these laws have been misinterpreted by certain sources in an attempt to control women.
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Average Customer Review:
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
 Faith Restored ....reclaiming Islamic Jurisprudence , 2006-07-08
This is a phenomenal book that presents the intersection of knowledge from three dimensions that rarely come together when addressing Islam. Khaled Abu el Fadel masterpiece, Speaking in the Name of God, builds on his deep knowledge of traditional Islamic jurisprudence, western thought on divergent topics such as philosophy, anthropology and linguistics and finally scientific research methods.
In this book Abu el Fadel sets about discussing basic fundamentals about the basic text of the Quran, he argues persuasively that the actual text of the Quran is authoritative whereas its interpretations are not necessarily so. Abu el Fadel proceeds to cover the concept of "agency" and the responsibilities that must be assumed by anyone who claims to interpret Islam and produce responsa or "fetwa". A tour de force of traditional Islamic Jurisprudence is presented setting the rules of how a fetwa can be reached, rules of evidence, weighing of multiple or contradictory indications, method of reasoning and ultimately presentation of results or fetwa.
Sharia Law as presented by Abu el Fadel is a far more nuanced and complex legal code than how it is commonly interpreted today in both the West and the Muslim World. A number of examples of Law from Saudi Arabia are presented in particular in relation to the restrictions imposed on women. Abu el Fadel presents the official Saudi Islamic rulings and sets about dissecting them in great detail and examining them under the microscope of traditional Islamic jurisprudence with its restrain and tremendous care not to usurp the intent of God and force one's own will on Islam.
Abu el Fadel goes to the root of some of the "Hadith", Prophet Mohammad sayings, that have been used over the years to limit the role of women in Islam. Abu el Fadel presents through very detailed analysis of history and Islamic Jurisprudence different versions of a specific Hadith that mandates duty of obedience on women towards their husbands very strong evidence that this commonly accepted Hadith is indeed fake. Abu el Fadel also presents the motives that could lay behind the number of fake Hadith's specially in relation to the split between Sunni and Shiite Islam. Consistent with his basic thesis Abu el Fadel presentations and conclusions are reached through very rigorous examination of all evidence, weighing of the evidence, balancing of the various factors in accordance with the established rules of Islamic Jurisprudence.
Khaled Abu el Fadel's modesty and "scientific humility" comes across in his restrain in drawing conclusions and in his constant attempts at presenting counter arguments to his own conclusions, and in his tentative approach towards building up his own conclusions. Abu el Fadel displays a tremendous example of what non authoritarian behavior is all about through his care not to fall into the common trap that is literally the standard approach to Islam today.
One day, perhaps centuries from now, this work may prove instrumental in recapturing the essence of Islam.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent as usual, 2006-02-19
Dr. Abou El Fadl's excellent book on Islam. The Great Theft and The Search For Beauty In Islam are among his great works.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
An Invaluable Book!!, 2003-12-17
What Mr. El Fadl has done in this book is nothing short of extraordinary. His project is to first explain to the reader how the Islamic jurisprudential system works: this is the system by which religious pronouncements were rated on a scale of reliability. He then proceeds to demonstrate that many of the current ethical pronouncements and fatwas issued by Islamic religious authorities (especially those concerning women's rights) do not meet Islam's criteria of reliability and rigor. El Fadl is not interested in denouncing Islam as heresy. He is a believer who is arguing only that those in positions of power in Islam must meet Islam's standards for reliability and rigor when making a pronouncement about a sacred text. The writing is lucid and vibrant and one does not need to have a scholarly understanding of Islam to appreciate the work El Fadl is doing at UCLA.
3 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
 AtheistWorld.Com Book Review, 2003-07-31
This book leaves out much to be desired.
You are better off reading "Islam Exposed" by Solomon Tulbure ISBN: 1932303456
5 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
Abou El Fadl's Authoritarianism, 2003-05-27
Despite competently hitting the bull's eye in several locations, Dr. Abou El Fadl commits the same crime he is trying to expose and fight. Whenever it is in his interest, he fails to discharge the 5 obligations which he proposes for establishing persuasive authority, namely: honesty, self-restraint, comprehensiveness, diligence, and reasonableness. His mentioning, for example, of the inquisition of the createdness of the Quran is disingenuous. No one can claim that the createdness of the Quran implies its circumstantiality, and thus the right to supercede it. After reading the book, I wondered about the plight of the Muslims trapped between the authoritarianism of Abou El Fadl and the authoritarianism of the Wahabbis....
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