In the House of the Law: Gender and Islamic Law in Ottoman Syria and Palestine [Paperback]

Judith E. Tucker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520224744 | ISBN-13: 978-0520224742 | Publication Date: July 3, 2000 | Edition: 1

In an rewarding new study, Tucker explores the way in which Islamic legal thinkers understood Islam as it related to women and gender roles. In seventeenth and eighteenth century Syria and Palestine, Muslim legal thinkers gave considerable attention to women's roles in society, and Tucker shows how fatwas, or legal opinions, greatly influenced these roles. She challenges prevailing views on Islam and gender, revealing Islamic law to have been more fluid and flexible than previously thought. Although the legal system had a consistent patriarchal orientation, it was modulated by sensitivities to the practical needs of women, men, and children. In her comprehensive overview of a field long neglected by scholars, Tucker deepens our understanding of how societies, including our own, construct gender roles.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"An original, valuable, and important study. . . . This book will quickly establish itself as a key work in the field of Middle East women's studies."--Leila Ahmed, author of Women and Gender in Islam

"The history of women in the Middle East is seen from an entirely new perspective in Judith Tucker's rewarding study of Islamic law in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Syria and Palestine."--Shofar

"Tucker presents a study of the tensions between the two traditions as acted out in the law courts in the Ottoman province of Shams...during the 16th through 18th centuries."--S. Bowman, Choice

From the Back Cover

"An original, valuable, and important study. . . . This book will quickly establish itself as a key work in the field of Middle East women's studies." (Leila Ahmed, author of Women and Gender in Islam)

"The history of women in the Middle East is seen from an entirely new perspective in Judith Tucker's rewarding study of Islamic law in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Syria and Palestine." (Shofar)

"Tucker presents a study of the tensions between the two traditions as acted out in the law courts in the Ottoman province of Shams...during the 16th through 18th centuries." (S. Bowman, Choice)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (July 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520224744
• ISBN-13: 978-0520224742
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Law > English Law > Social Security & Welfare
  • #44 in Books > History > Middle East > Syria
  • #55 in Books > Law > Perspectives on Law > Gender & the Law

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly superb scholarship, January 12, 2008

By 

S. Kaiksow "valuing competence" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In the House of the Law: Gender and Islamic Law in Ottoman Syria and Palestine (Paperback)

Tucker undertakes an exacting study of the gender discourse of Islamic legal practice in Bilad al-Sham (the Levant or Palestine, Lebanon, Syria) in the 17th and 18th centuries. She uses extensive primary sources from the legal scholars and judges of the time, and summarizes and analyzes these sources with clarity, precision and deep insight. Anyone who is interested in women and gender or Islamic law in the Middle East MUST read this book.