In the Shadow of Shar__ah: Islam, Islamic Law, and Democracy in Pakistan

"This is an outstanding book. It is, amongst other things, about land, law, and power in the Punjab from the mid-nineteenth century to the present; about how Muslims might vote for shari'ah law but prefer customary law in practice; and about how power works at the local level in Pakistan. It is deeply thoughtful on the relationship among Islam, Islamic law, and democracy and no less thoughtful on a scholarly approach to these subjects. In the Shadow of Shari'ah will be read with admiration by scholars of Pakistan and also of the wider Muslim world for decades to come." Professor Francis Robinson, Royal Holloway, University of London

"Matthew Nelson brilliantly unravels the logic of Muslim politics in colonial and postcolonial Pakistan. He masterfully demonstrates the ways in which disputes over inheritance have been mediated by the intricate interaction between custom and shari'ah and the unfolding of accountability within the state-based legal order. Local understandings of the law emerge as central - the microfoundational mechanisms' that make democratic politics more or less possible. In this way. In the Shadow of Shari'ah reinvigorates the arid debate over Islam's compatibly with democracy - and powerfully transforms it." Professor James Piscatori, Durham University

"Nelson analyzes Islam, democracy, and shari'ah not as abstract concepts, but in terms of the historical specificities of a particular time and place. Focusing on the law relating to female inheritance rights in the Punjab, this book shows how the practical meanings attached to shari'ah and its operation remain deeply enmeshed in structures of law and landholding dating back to the colonial era. Nelson combines history and ethnography to illuminate the interaction between law and local politics in contemporary Pakistan in groundbreaking ways." Professor David Gilmartin, North Carolina State University

"Matthew Nelson's work sheds new light on how the shari'ah is viewed in many local contexts, and it guides us towards a fresh perspective on the much debated relationship between Islam and democracy. Anyone interested not just in Pakistani politics but also in contemporary debates on the shari'ah and the comparative study of Muslim societies will learn much from this important book." Professor Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton University

In the Shadow of Shari'ah sets out to prove that Islam and the democratic ethos are neither compatible nor incompatible in any permanent or specific sense. Rather, the two work more or less in concert in relation to the historically embedded choices of individual Muslims and their specific approaches to Islamic law.

Studies of shari'ah, or Islamic law, are at the heart of several important debates, yet carefully researched scholarship on the terms of Islamic law is rare. Matthew J. Nelson launches a historically embedded analysis of shari'ah in Pakistan's largest and most influential province, Punjab, to highlight the relationships among Islam, Islamic law, and democracy and the ways in which different cultural and historical contexts transform each entity. Nelson begins with colonial and postcolonial efforts to introduce shari'ah into an environment tied to "tribal" custom. He then examines the way in which electoral accountability came to privilege those who could simultaneously sustain Islamic law "in theory" and customary law "in practice." Drawing attention to the interaction of formal and informal legal and political institutions over time, Nelson argues that a deeper understanding of the relationship between Islam and democracy requires a more sophisticated appreciation of the complex legal strategies adopted by individual Muslims.