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.