Land, Law and Islam Property and Human Rights in the Muslim World

In this pioneering work, Siraj Sait and Hilary Lim address Islamic property and land rights drawing on a range of socio-historical, classical and contemporary debates and their practice. They address the significance of Islamic theories of property and Islamic land tenure regimes on the "webs of tenure" prevalent in the Muslim societies. They consider the possibilities with Islamic legal and human rights systems for the development of inclusive, pro-poor and innovative approaches to land rights. They also focus on Muslim women's rights to property and inheritance systems. Engaging with institutions such as the Islamic endowment (waqf) and principles of Islamic microfinance, they test the workability of "authentic" Islamic proposals. Located in human rights as well as Islamic debates, this study offers a well researched and constructive appraisal of property and land rights in the Muslim world.

Hilary Lim is Principal Lecturer in Law at University of East London and Siraj Sait is Senior Lecturer in Law, University of East London and currently Legal Officer, Un-HABITAT, Nairobi Kenya.