The Expert Witness in Islamic Courts: Medicine and Crafts in the Service of LawIslam’s tense relationship with modernity is one of the most crucial issues of our time. Within Islamic legal systems, with their traditional preference for eyewitness testimony, this struggle has played a significant role in attitudes toward expert witnesses. Utilizing a uniquely comparative approach, Ron Shaham here examines the evolution of the role of such witnesses in a number of Arab countries from the premodern period to the present. Shaham begins with a history of expert testimony in medieval Islamic culture, analyzing the different roles played by male experts, especially physicians and architects, and females, particularly midwives. From there, he focuses on the case of Egypt, tracing the country’s reform of its traditional legal system along European lines beginning in the late nineteenth century. Returning to a broader perspective, Shaham draws on a variety of legal and historical sources to place the phenomenon of expert testimony in cultural context. A truly comprehensive resource, The Expert Witness in Islamic Courts will be sought out by a broad spectrum of scholars working in history, religion, gender studies, and law. |
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The Expert Witness in Islamic Courts: Medicine and Crafts in the Service of Law Ron Shaham No preview available - 2010 |
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Abu Hanifa accepted According Ahmad argues assessor Beirut birth blood buyer Cairo century chapter child civil courts civil-law claim context court of appeals Court of Cassation criminal Dār death decision defect disease dispute divorce DNA testing Egypt Egyptian established evidence example expert testimony expert witnessing expertise family law father female expert female slave fiqh grounds hadith Hafiza halacha Hanafi Hanbali heirs husband Ibid Ibn Abidin Ibn Abidin 1966 Ibn al-Rami Ibn Qayyim Ibn Qudama Ibn Rushd Indigenous Court inspection Islamic Law Jewish judge judicial practice jurists khabar Khibra knowledge last accessed lawsuit legal systems litigants male Maliki marriage midwives modern mortal sickness mother mufti Muhammad Muslim Nawawi Ottoman paternity person physicians physiognomy pregnancy premodern presumption probative procedure professional qadi Qarafi Qur'an regard reliable rules Sarakhsi 1993a scientific Shafi'i shahāda Shari'a Court testify tion traditional ulama Univ vols Wadghiri waqf wife woman women