Orientalist scholarship framed Islamic jurisprudence as moral deontology, not real law

Evidence

Johansen reminds us of the colonial context of orientalist studies of the shari¯‘a, and observes that Snouck Hurgronje, the first Western authority on the subject, regarded fiqh as an incoherent mixture of religion, ethics, and politics—not as a functioning law but as a theory of the ideal Muslim society that had practical significance only in matters relating to ritual devotions, family relations, and endowments. This view, says Johansen, has had a profound effect on Western students of Islam who have tended to see fiqh as a deontology—a system of religious and moral duties—rather than as a law in the rational sense. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 1167 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: In Islamic civilization, law served morality and science served religious inquiry.; Normative pluralism in Islamic law rests on distinguishing divine from fallible human knowledge; Orientalist scholarship framed Islamic law as borrowed from prior Near Eastern cultures — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 510 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Orientalist scholarship framed Islamic fiqh as religious ethics, not law. #expands (0.97) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 1167