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Application of Muslim Family Law as a Form of Customary Law in Accra, Ghana

Title data

Issaka-Toure, Fulera:
Application of Muslim Family Law as a Form of Customary Law in Accra, Ghana.
In: Islamic Africa. Vol. 11 (2020) . - pp. 232-251.
ISSN 2154-0993
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/21540993-01102004

Abstract in another language

This article examines the central role of the malam (Islamic scholar) in the application of Muslim family law in a legal plural tradition in Accra, Ghana. It demonstrates that the role of the malam as a legal actor is one which is not self-ascribed, yet his deployment of such role is significant in how we understand the interaction of various bodies of laws and their hierarchies. The article shows that women form the majority of the litigants who seek to improve their wellbeing by appealing to Islamic legal norms through the malamai. It argues that, through the judicial practices of the malamai of the two dominant Islamic groups, the Tijāniyya and the Salafiyya, the manner in which the malam himself deploys his legal role reveals how his position is relevant for his predominantly female clients. In the end, this article contributes to how we understand the practice of legal pluralism through the application of Muslim family law as a form of customary law.

Further data

Item Type: Article in a journal
Refereed: Yes
Keywords: Malam/malamai; Ghana; Muslim family law; Legal pluralism; Customary law
Institutions of the University: Faculties > Faculty of Languages and Literature
Faculties > Faculty of Languages and Literature > Chair Islamic Studies
Faculties > Faculty of Languages and Literature > Chair Islamic Studies > Chair Islamic Studies - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Seesemann
Faculties
Result of work at the UBT: Yes
DDC Subjects: 200 Religion
200 Religion > 290 Other religions
Date Deposited: 08 Aug 2022 06:33
Last Modified: 09 Aug 2022 07:08
URI: https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/71395