A Sense of Justice: Coloniality and the Islamic Legal Tradition

This special issue presents a critical history of legal modernization and the "creative destruction"1 of the institutional apparatus of Islamic law.We offer not only comparative interventions but seek to better understand how the transplantation of secular legal orders was justified and maintained.This approach will enable the reader to appreciate the historical process-not merely the outcome-of creating alternative judicial orders and the impact of colonial legalities on legal institutions and their socio-political contexts.We start our inquiry from the premise that only by integrating the internal logic of Islamic legal institutions and indigenous practices can we understand the effects that colonial legalities have had on the development of law.The colonial era presents a critical juncture in the history of modern and contemporary Islamic law, one whose full impact remains debated.In many cases, colonial administrations laid the foundation for institutions that would comprise the so-called modern nation state.Most relevantly, the codification 1 Creative destruction is a concept introduced by economist Joseph Schumpeter (d.1950).It refers to the process of innovation and technological change that leads to the destruction of existing economic structures, such as industries, firms, and jobs.For Schumpeter, this destruction paves the way for new structures to emerge, thereby creating long-term economic growth and progress.See