ABSTRACT
For Westerners Islamic law (sharia) may seem a subject of arcane knowledge or potential threat. Neither properly reflects the truth. Islamic family law, as actually practiced, is deeply entwined with the cultures in which it is embedded, whether it is in the Arabic-speaking world, the populous portions of South and Southeast Asia, or in the countries to which many Muslims have migrated. Seen up close, in the proceedings of the courts and in the assumptions about people and relationships that Islamic judges draw upon, one has the opportunity to understand much of Muslim life and society. Working from my own studies of such courts in North Africa and the writings of scholars who have spent innumerable hours observing actual disputes one can see the rich array of factors that inform a legal system that holds meaning for nearly a quarter of all humankind.
