Shariʿa and Life: Authority, Compromise, and Mission in European Mosques

Drawing on five years of field studies in pragmatic- and dogmatic-inclined mosques across Europe, Shariʿ
a and Life explores how Muslims engage with shariʿ
a norms in general, and specifically with the challenges they face as Muslims living in majority non-Muslim societies.

The book examines how fatwas (advice on shariʿ
a-related matters) are quested, negotiated, paraphrased, contested, or ignored in mosques, on the internet, and elsewhere. It also analyses individual strategies, external to religio-legal discourse, through which Muslims mitigate conflicts between interpretations of shariʿ
a and everyday life.

Among the issues discussed in the book are financial transactions, education, the workplace, sports, electoral participation, Christmas greetings, proselytizing, and the legitimacy of choosing to live in a non-Muslim country. Shifting the focus from the authors and texts of fatwas to their recipients, Shariʿ
a and Life gives voice to those often left voiceless and demonstrates the great discretion and flexibility with which tensions between shariʿ
a and life are resolved.