Islamic Inheritance Law in the European Context

Legal Accommodation and Sociocultural Challenges in the Fiqh of the European Council for Fatwa and Research

Abstract

This article explores how the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) approaches the complex issue of integrating Islamic norms of succession into the European context, considering the legal and sociocultural challenges it faces along the way. The subject of the analysis are the interpretations of Islamic norms on inheritance that are presented in resolutions (qararat), expert legal opinions (fatawa) and recommendations (tawsiyyat) of the ECFR. It is argued that the ECFR views the integration of Islamic norms on inheritance mainly through the prism of legal accommodation, not showing sufficient sensitivity to the sociocultural factors involved in the integration process, which may result in the absence of adequate contextualization of fiqh in the social reality (al-waqiʻ) of European Muslim communities.