This collection invites the reader to turn from the current obsession with the role of Islam in the modern world, and rethink the relationship between law, faith and power; one of the most pressing concerns that we presently face. We cannot hope to come to any sensible conclusions if we address this complex issue from the exclusive standpoint of a European notion of history where secularism is at once defi ned too narrowly and too broadly. Thus, this collection must be seen as intentionally failing to reach general conclusions about ‘Islam, identity and law’. It is a contribution to a much broader debate about monotheism, state law and identity formation; and one that is committed to examining the agon between the old and the new, between secularising and religious forces. There are no given or necessary outcomes – only the possibilities of transformation, mutation.