A Multicultural Entrapment

"In the nation state structure of Israel as a nation Jewish state there is a dominant constitutional force deeming the jurisdiction of the Palestinian-Arab minority religions a form of a multicultural "accommodation". This characterization is what differentiates Palestinian-Arab religion and state conflicts from Jewish religion and state conflicts. In light of this design, Palestinian-Arab religious jurisdiction gives rise to a unique, acute, undetected and heretofore unstudied individual predicament for its vulnerable minority members (women and children) who are subject to the patriarchal religious norms of their respective religions. The book takes a critical look at this reality re-characterizing it as "multicultural entrapment". Both the Israeli stablishment and Palestinian-Arab political representatives are interested in maintaining Palestinian-Arab religious authority and seek multiculturalism as a justification in spite of the fact that this jurisdictional authority does not qualify as a multicultural accommodation. Admitting that this jurisdictional is an oppressive mechanism will bring more embarrassment to these institution, the individual sacrifice of Palestinian-Arabs notwithstanding. This makes modernizing Palestinian-Arab religious family law particularly challenging, and the book offers a number of innovative reform mechanisms"--

A critical legal study of religion and state relations in Israel focusing on the religiously entrapped Palestinian-Arab individuals.

Informative and provocative, this book introduces readers to debates in the contemporary study of religion and suggests future research possibilities.

Provost argues that the intersection between religion, nationalism, and other vectors of difference in both Canada and Israel offers a revealing laboratory in which to examine multiculturalism in particular and the governance of diversity in general. For several decades, 'culture' played a central role in challenging the liberal tradition. More recently, religion seems to have re-emerged as the new central challenge facing Western liberal societies' conception of multiculturalism.

The volume serves as reference point for anyone interested in the Middle East and North Africa as well as for those interested in women's rights and family law, generally or in the MENA region. It is the only book covering personal status codes of nearly a dozen countries. It covers Muslim family law in the following Middle East/north African countries: Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Qatar. Some of these countries were heavily affected by the Arab Spring, and some were not. With authors from around the world, each chapter of the book provides a history of personal status law both before and after the revolutionary period. Tunisia emerges as the country that made the most significant progress politically and with respect to women's rights. A decade on from the Arab Spring, across the region there is more evidence of stasis than change.

This book challenges conventional boundaries of family law providing a solid foundation and edge to students' understanding of the topic.

One of the most famous literary critics of the twentieth century, Edward Said's work has been hugely influential far beyond academia. As a prominent advocate for the Palestinian cause and a noted music critic, Said redefined the role of the public intellectual. In his books, as scholarly as they are readable, he challenged conventional critical demarcations between disciplines. His major opus, Orientalism, is a key text in postcolonial studies that continues to influence as well as challenge scholars in the field. Conor McCarthy introduces the reader to Said's major works and examines how his work and life were intertwined. He explains recurring themes in Said's writings on literature and empire, on intellectuals and literary theory, on music and on the Israel/Palestine conflict. This concise, informative and clearly written introduction for students beginning to study Said is ideally set up to explain the complexities of his work to new audiences.

In February 2018, the ‘Independent Review on Sharia Law in England and Wales’ was published, headed by Professor Mona Siddiqui. The review focused on whether sharia law is being misused or applied in a way that is incompatible with the domestic law in England and Wales, and, in particular, whether there were discriminatory practices against women who use sharia councils. It came about after years of concerns raised by academics, lawyers and women’s activists. This timely collection of essays from experts, scholars and legal practitioners provides a critique and evaluation of the Inquiry findings as a starting point for analysis and debate on current British Muslim family law practices in the matters of marriage and divorce. At the heart of the collection lie key questions of state action and legal reform of religious practices that may operate ‘outside the sphere of law and legal relations’ but also in conjunction with state law mechanisms and processes. This cutting-edge book is a must read for those with an interest in Islamic law, family law, sociology of religion, human rights, multiculturalism, politics, anthropology of law and gender studies.