Italian, although - due to the materials used and the possible presence of foreign guests - the capacity to autonomously read texts in English and to understand the spoken language can contribute to a more effective participation.
Course Content
The course will analyse the following topics: the historical evolution and the sources of Islamic law; the structure and categories of classical Islamic law, its role in modern legal systems, and its interaction with the legal tradition of the main Western countries; the main problems of interaction with State law as observed in some European and non-European legal systems.
Students actively attending the course will prepare the exam on their notes.
Students not attending the course will use the following text: F. Castro, Il modello islamico, 2a ed. ( G.M. Piccinelli ed.), Giappichelli, Torino, 2007, pp. 3-155.
An alternative programme, even with texts in English or French, can be agreed with the professor.
Learning Objectives
The course aims to provide the students with the ability to:
- Understand the practical consequences of the position of a specific practice in the system of Islamic law;
-critically assess the balance of values between Islamic law and state legal systems, in the light of a proper cultural, social and historical contextualization;
- critically analyze the cultural and political visions influencing the legal aspects of coexistence with Muslim communities.
Prerequisites
Students must have passed the exams of general constitutional law, Private law I. This requirement does not apply to Erasmus+ students and other exchange students.
Teaching Methods
Classes are taught mainly through lectures and workshops, involving external experts. Movies and historical documentaries can be shown during the course to support different learning modalities.
Further information
In order to attend the course, the students shall register their names in a list provided by the teacher. During the course attendance will be verified. If the student will be absent for more than one third of the lessons without a reason, he/she will not be considered as an attending student.
Type of Assessment
The exam is oral and will usually consist of two or three questions.
The first question is more general, related to the sources and the basics of classical Islamic law. This is to allow the student to show his/her knowledge as well as the application of a more historical and comparative approach to the study.
The second question deals with a different part of the program, to verify the ability of the student to critically analyze the topic studied.
A third question might be asked when the previous answers leave a margin of doubt for the final assessment.
The assessment is sufficient if all answers are sufficient and there are no serious gaps or mistakes. It is excellent if all the questions are treated comprehensively, with a critical approach and a correct use of legal terminology.
Course program
Starting from the sources of law and the main phases of the development of Shari’ah, the course aims to underline the various forms of Islamic law, as a consequence of both the historical divisions in “schools” and the interaction with local customs and state systems developed within Islamic societies. The historical forms of Islam will be compared with the main visions of Islamic law spread in the West.
These aspects will provide the basics for analyzing the legal reactions developed in the Western societies in relation to the main “cultural conflicts”, in order to highlight the several possible solutions, respecting the founding values of the different systems. Some of the main European legal systems will be considered, assessing the legal positions adopted in comparison with the corresponding positions adopted by the Muslim communities.
The main challenges in the coexistence of Shari’ah and secular systems will be examined, from the point of view of those States where Islam is the main religion, but modernization processes are occurring. In this case, attention will be paid to Personal Status Law (family law and inheritance).
Sustainable Development Goals 2030
This course contributes to the implementation of the objectives of the 2030 ONU Agenda for Sustainable Development