Cover

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Anna K. Tibaijuka

1Researching Islam, Land and Property

Scope of the Research

Methodology

Land and Property Rights in Muslim Societies

Theorizing Islam, Land and Property

Islamic Concepts of Land Tenure and Access to Land

Security of Tenure

Islamic Land and Land Reform

Factors Influencing Islamic Land Doctrines

Land Administration and Good Governance

Ottoman Land Administration

Islam and Land Cadastre, Registration and Titling

Islamic Urban Planning

Islam, Environment and Water

Conclusions

2Islamic Law, Land and Methodologies

Role of Law in Land Policy

Relevance of Islamic Law in the Muslim World

Reasoning in Islamic Law

Foundations of Islamic Law and Usul al Fiqh

Evolution of Islamic Laws Relating to Land and Property

Sources of Islamic Law Relating to Land

Ijtihad (Personal Reasoning)

Jurisprudential Schools or Madhahib

Islamic Law in a Pluralist World

Islamic Legal Pluralism

Islamic Law in Action

Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice

Conclusions

3Islamic Land Tenures and Reform

Contextualizing Islamic Land Tenure

Security of Tenure in the Muslim World

Islamic Webs of Tenure and the Tenure Continuum

Categorization of Land

Acquiring Individual Ownership of Land

Land Tenure Regimes in Ottoman Practice

The Ottoman Codes and Land Regulation

Impact of Colonialist Land Administration

Postcolonial ‘Land Tenure Webs’

Conclusions

4Islamic Human Rights and Land

International Land and Property Rights Framework

Debating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Universalism and Cultural Relativism

Religion as a Source of Human Rights

Islamic Human Rights and Land Rights

Islamic Rights for Women, Children, Minorities and Migrants

Implementing Land, Property and Housing Rights

Conclusions

5Inheritance Laws and Systems

Nature of Islamic Inheritance Laws

Key Features of Islamic Legal Rules of Inheritance

Inheritance Rules as Part of Wider Islamic Inheritance Systems

Estate Planning

Post-inheritance Adjustments

Legal Reforms to Inheritance Systems

Conclusions

6Muslim Women and Property

Debunking Stereotypes Regarding Muslim Women

Addressing Gender Rights through International Human Rights Law

Women’s Rights to Property under Islamic Law

Unequal Shares in Inheritance and the ‘Compensation’ Argument

Social History of Muslim Women’s Property Rights

Custom, Family and Women’s Property Rights

Impact of Modern Legal Reforms

Conclusions

7The Waqf (Endowment) and Islamic Philanthropy

A Unique Islamic Institution

Legal Framework for the Waqf

Property and the Cash Waqf

Accountability of the Waqf

Socio-economic Impact of the Waqf

Debating the Contribution of Awqaf

Colonialism and the Waqf

Decline of the Waqf

Postcolonial Attitudes Towards Awqaf

Contemporary Revival of the Waqf

Waqf in the State Discourse – Kuwait Case Study

Innovation in the Administrative Structure of Awqaf

Ijtihad and the Perpetuity of the Waqf

Access to Land through the Waqf Model

Conclusions

8Islamic Credit and Microfinance

Modern Revival of Islamic Finance

Foundations of Islamic Economic Activities and Behaviour

Distinguishing Features of Islamic Finance – the Prohibition on Riba and Gharar

Social and Developmental Roles of Islamic Banks

Application of Islamic Principles to Microfinance

Islamic Financial Objectives and Products

Islamic Mortgages

Takaful (Islamic Insurance) and Microtakaful (Micro-insurance)

‘Back Door’ Conventional Banking and Microfinance

Need for Regulation

Islamic Microfinance in Practice

Islamic Microfinance in Yemen

Bangladesh and the Grameen Bank

Conclusions

Postscript: From Strategy to Tools

Bibliography

Glossary of Arabic,Ottoman and Islamic Terms

Index