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

The book examines how fatwas (advice on shariʿa-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 shariʿa 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, Shariʿa and Life gives voice to those often left voiceless and demonstrates the great discretion and flexibility with which tensions between shariʿa and life are resolved.