Joseph Raz. Between authority and interpretation : on the theory of law and practical reason.
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009. Call number: K231 .R39 2009
Publisher's description:
In this book Joseph Raz develops his views on some of the central questions in practical philosophy: legal, political and moral. The book provides an overview of Raz's work on jurisprudence and the nature of law in the context of broader questions in the philosophy of practical reason.
The book opens with a discussion of methodological issues, focusing on understanding the nature of jurisprudence, asking how the nature of law can be explained, and how the success of a legal theory can be established. The book then addresses central questions on the nature of law, its relation to morality, the nature and justification of authority, and the nature of legal reasoning. It explains how legitimate law, while being a branch of applied morality, is also a relatively autonomous system, which has the potential to bridge moral differences among its subjects. Raz offers responses to some critical reactions to his theory of authority, adumbrating and modifying the theory to meet some of them. The final part of the book brings together for the first time Raz's work on the nature of interpretation in law and the humanities. It includes a new essay explaining interpretive pluralism and the possibility of interpretive innovation.
Taken together, the essays in the volume offer a valuable introduction for students coming for the first time to Raz's work in the philosophy of law, and an original contribution to many of the current debates in practical philosophy.
Jamal. J.A. Nasir. The status of women under Islamic law and modern Islamic legislation. 3rd ed. of the rev. and updated work.
Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2009. Call number: KBP526.32.N37 A37 2009
Publisher's description:
This book is believed to be the first of its kind written by a renowned Muslim lawyer in the English language, and by an Arab author who is probably the leading authority writing in English in the subject of Islamic law (the Sharia), and modern Islamic legislation.
There has long been a need for an objective study such as this dealing with the legal rights and obligations of women under the Sharia and under modern Arab Islamic legislation. Seen within the broad principles of Islamic law, the book examines the status of women with regard to marriage, the iddat, parentage and fosterage and custody, and fills an important gap left by recent and more general publications on Islamic law.
The author has researched original Arabic and Islamic text books and reviewed legislation in the different Arab countries in order to present the most up-to-date information on the subject.
It is hoped that this clear, objective account will dispel many of the commonly-held misconceptions about the status of Muslim women in the modern world. This book will provide an enlightenment and deeper understanding of the subject, not only for legal practitioners, but for all those concerned, or with an interest in the subject, particularly Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries, indeed non-Muslim women who may be married to Muslims.
