Includes bibliographical references (pages 276-291) and index.

Part I. Muslim personal status law in Egypt: the current situation and possibilities of reform through internal initiatives / Essam Fawzy. Social context. Personal status law in Egypt: an historical overview. Understanding the law: Egyptian family and social attitudes (results of the field study). Law no. 1 of 2000: a new personal status law and a step on the path to reform. General conclusions -- Part II. Islamic law and the transition to Palestinian statehood: constraints and opportunities for legal reform / edited by Penny Johnson and Lynn Welchman. Legal context: shariʻa courts and Muslim family law in the transitional period / Lynn Welchman. Palestinian interim governance: state legitimation, legal reform, and the shariʻa / Penny Johnson. Attitudes towards legal reform of personal status law in Palestine / Rema Hammami. Agents for reform: the women's movement, social politics, and family law reform / Penny Johnson. Appendix: case history / Fadwa al-Labadi -- Part III. No altars: a survey of Islamic family law in the United States / Asifa Quraishi and Najeeba Syeed-Miller. Islamic family law in American Muslim hands. The Muslim family in the USA: law in practice. Islamic family law in US courts. Future trends and predictions. Conclusion. Appendix: table of cases. Part IV. Domestic violence and shariʻa: a comparative study of Muslim societies in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia / Lisa Hajjar. Domestic violence and shariʻa.

Present day realities of Islamic family law are explored in this volume, with the focus on the rights of women. It draws on three case studies - Egypt, the West Bank & Gaza and the U.S. - which illustrate the different social environments in which Moslemcommunities live.

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