The appointment of Muslim women as judges in the courts: a textual analysis from Islamic perspective
The appointment of women as judges in Muslim countries remains a challenging and debatable issue due to a general perception that such appointment might not be in conformity with the SharÊÑah. Dual legal systems, i.e. civil and SharÊÑah courts exist in the Muslim world. The SharÊÑah Court has jur...
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
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IACSIT Press
2011
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/16413/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/16413/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/16413/1/16413.pdf |
| Summary: | The appointment of women as judges in Muslim countries remains a challenging and
debatable issue due to a general perception that such appointment might not be in conformity with
the SharÊÑah. Dual legal systems, i.e. civil and SharÊÑah courts exist in the Muslim world. The
SharÊÑah Court has jurisdiction related to family law only for Muslims. A few Muslim women,
even though their growth is continuously increasing, are contributing as judges in the Muslim
world. However, it is imperatively essential to examine the textual sources in order to know the
stance of Islamic SharÊÑah. The juristic interpretations of the texts would benefit the entire
humanity in the judicial system like other sectors if the avenues of opportunities are given to them.
Therefore, this article examines critically the appointment of women as judges on the basis of the
textual arguments of the Qur’Én and the Sunnah that contribute in making a clear Islamic legal
stance for a better understanding of the role of women in judicial system. In particular, it intends to
focus on: a) analyzing the prohibition and permissibility of the appointment of women as judges in
courts from the Islamic legal perspective, b) evaluating critically and clarifying the issue according
to the classical as well as contemporary Muslim scholars, and c) providing some recommendations
with the qualifications to be judges that can illuminate the existing debate about the appointment in
both courts. The two key issues will be critically examined, which are; the question of the
qualifications to be judges and the question of the legal stance of the SharÊÑah about the
appointment. Discussion would include implications of the research findings, shortcomings of the
current study, and directions for future research. |
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