The expert witness in Islamic courts : medicine and crafts in the service of law / Ron Shaham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shaham, Ron.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical jurisprudence (Islamic law).

Evidence (Islamic law).

Evidence, Expert.

DNA fingerprinting (Islamic law).

Islamic courts.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (302 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Islam's tense relationship with modernity is one of the most crucial issues of our time. Within Islamic legal systems, with their traditional preference for eyewitness testimony, this struggle has played a significant role in attitudes toward expert witnesses. Utilizing a uniquely comparative approach, Ron Shaham here examines the evolution of the role of such witnesses in a number of Arab countries from the premodern period to the present. Shaham begins with a history of expert testimony in medieval Islamic culture, analyzing the different roles played by male experts, especially physicians and architects, and females, particularly midwives. From there, he focuses on the case of Egypt, tracing the country's reform of its traditional legal system along European lines beginning in the late nineteenth century. Returning to a broader perspective, Shaham draws on a variety of legal and historical sources to place the phenomenon of expert testimony in cultural context. A truly comprehensive resource, The Expert Witness in Islamic Courts will be sought out by a broad spectrum of scholars working in history, religion, gender studies, and law.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Between a Witness, a Reporter, and a Judge: The Probative Status of the Expert

2. The Right Hand of Qadis: Male Experts in Judicial Practice

3. Agents of Patriarchy in the Secluded World of Women: Females as Expert Witnesses

4. Continuity and Reform: The Egyptian Expert System in a Comparative Perspective

5. Revealing the Secrets of the Body: Litigants, Courts, and Modern Medicine in Egypt

6. From Physiognomy to DNA Testing: Developments in the Establishment of Paternity

Conclusion: Islamic Expert Witnessing in Comparative Perspective

Appendix: List of Court Decisions

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786612538650

9781282538658

1282538659

9780226749358

0226749355

OCLC:

609863596