PhD student, Department of the Study of Religion, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus.

Islamic jurisprudence and Muslim minorities in the West

The project examines the role of Islamic law for Muslim minorities through the study of fatwâs (legal opinions embodying an interpretation of Sharî‘a) issued by fatwâ councils in the West and the Muslim majority world, respectively. The project addresses how Muslim jurisconsults re-examine the classical legal sources in their attempt to formulate religious guidance that take into account Islamic values and are in accordance with the dynamics of the Western societies.

From a discursive analytic perspective, it will examine how the fatwâs contribute to both preservation of Islamic values and elaboration and adaptation of Islamic law to local practices. The project seeks to explain how the fatwâs express and define Islamic law, and how they may affect its status and influence among Muslim minorities in the West.