Law of Allah, Law of Men: Freedom, Equality and Women in Islam, by Leïla Babès & Tareq Oubrou

Law of Allah, Law of Men: Freedom, Equality and Women in Islam, by Leïla Babès & Tareq Oubrou

What stance should modern Muslims take on Shari'ah corporal punishment, such as stoning or mutilation? And vis-à-vis the death sentence for apostasy or that of the adulteress? What does Islam really say about the status of women, the wearing of the veil, their rights in marriage, inheritance or in the event of separation?
These questions, crucial for the Muslim community in France, and which tragic events make even more urgent, are here pretexts for an unprecedented confrontation. Leïla Babès and Tareq Oubrou illustrate two visions of Islam: that of an intellectual attached to the scientific criticism of texts and to a modern conception of freedom, and that of a spiritual leader open to necessary adaptations, but within the framework of classical Islamic law.
By discussing the authenticity of such a saying attributed to the Prophet or by analyzing the relevance of such a prescription, the authors teach us a thousand things about what Muslim law is, and about the different ways of interpreting it. In this controversy, the values of the Western democratic order constantly challenge those of the traditional religious order.
The great debate which divides the Muslims of France is now engaged: it concerns all the citizens of this country, Muslims or not.