Due to mass migration over a number of decades, many Muslims today find themselves residing as minorities in Western secular nations and as a result are searching for answers in order to live within these societies yet remain true to their faith. This book sets out to counter the idea that there are only two possibilities for Muslim minorities--isolation or assimilation--by arguing that traditional Islamic law, or fiqh as it is found in the classical schools of law, is not outdated or too inflexible to be utilized in the 21st century and that rather it can provide the means for Muslims to integrate within secular societies while maintaining a link to the sources of their religion and its legal rulings. Amjad M. Mohammed demonstrates how Islamic law, as interpreted by the Hanafi School of Law, is a multifaceted, complex legal system that takes into account both the individual's situation and the society's culture and customs. The concept of diyar, or political-legal jurisdictions, is discussed with special emphasis on the criteria for the application of dar al-Islam (Muslim state), dar-al-sulh (peace-treaty state), and dar al-harb (enemy state). A number of rulings for different situations that confront Muslim minorities are also included, such as working with illegal products or services, halal meat, food additives, medicines and medical interventions, financial transactions, and political participation.

In a world where almost all societies are multi-religious and multi-ethnic, we need to study how social cohesion can be achieved in different contexts. In some geographical areas, as in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, people of different religious belonging have, through the ages, lived side by side, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in dissonance. In other geographical regions, as in Scandinavia, societies have been quite religiously homogeneous but only recently challenged by immigration.In both locations the relations between religious minority and majority are very much on the agenda. In order to discuss the situation for non-Muslims in Muslim majority societies, a consultation was convened with both Muslim and Christian participants from Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Sweden. Some of the participants work in academic settings, others in faith-based organisations, some in jurisprudence and others with theological issues. Non-Muslims in Muslim Majority Societies is the result of thatconsultation. The intention of the book is to trigger reflection and further thinking, through papers that discuss issues such as freedom of religion, minority rights, secular and religious legislation, and inter-religious dialogue in Muslim majority societies. Although the articles are presented as 'works in progress' and remain tentative in many of their conclusions, this book is an important contribution to the global debate over religious tolerance and religious pluralism.

A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.

Analyzes Muslim countries' contemporary problems, particularly violence, authoritarianism, and underdevelopment, comparing their historical levels of development with Western Europe.

Examines the treatment of non-Arab people under the rule of the Muslims and collects historical documents related to this subject

This book examines the development of a contemporary internal debate among Muslim minorities living in Western Europe and North America to establish a specific form of Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh al-aqalliyyat attempts to strike a balance between Muslim's religious commitments and their civic identity as citizens in Western liberal states.