Muslim Marriage in Western Courts (Cultural Diversity and Law)

This book describes and analyzes the notion of Mahr, the Muslim custom whereby the groom has to give a gift to the bride in consideration of the marriage. It explores how Western courts, specifically in Canada, the United States, France, and Germany, have approached and interpreted Mahr. Returning to the overarching concept of liberalism, the book proposes that distributive consequences rather than recognition occupy central place in the evaluation of the legal options available to Muslim women upon divorce. Read more... Cover; Contents; List of Abbreviations; List of Cases; Foreword -- Janet Halley; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1 The Roots of Mahr and the Hybrid Transplant: Introducing Mahr as an Islamic Legal Conception; 2 When Mahr Travels: Adjudicating Mahr in Canada, the United States, France and Germany; 3 Nourishing the Transplanted Law: Fertile Soil or Rocky Ground?; 4 Contradictions in the Reception of Mahr as Ideology and Subjectivity; 5 Samir and Leila Revisited: The Adjudication and Reception of Mahr and its Subjective