Judging Through Narrative : Muslim Family Laws in Non-Muslim Courts

This book examines how non-Muslim courts construct and frame narratives in Muslim Family Law disputes, shaping rule of law, gender reform, and public trust. Drawing on cases from Ghana, India, Israel, and Greece, it offers unique insights for readers in law, religion, human rights, comparative politics and area studies.

Judging Through Narrative explores the normative frames, or judicial narratives, that non-Muslim courts construct when adjudicating Muslim Family Law disputes. The book examines how these narratives shape the rule of law, gender reform, and public trust in the justice system. Drawing on over 400 interviews with judges, lawyers, and litigants, and an analysis of nearly 3,000 judicial decisions from Ghana, India, Israel, and Greece, the book reveals how coherence and fragmentation in judicial storytelling influences legal legitimacy and reform. Introducing the concept of 'narratival (in)cohesion', this work offers a new framework for understanding how courts mediate between religion, rights, and state authority. Bridging law, political science, and socio-legal studies, it is an essential resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand how judicial narratives shape the lived experience of law in diverse, multi-religious societies.