This is the first single-authored account of both the theory and practice of Islamic criminal law. In recent years some of the more fundamentalist regimes, such as those of Iran, Pakistan, Sudan and the Northern states of Nigeria have reintroduced Islamic law. Rudolf Peters gives a detailed account of the classical doctrine and traces the enforcement of criminal law from the Ottoman period to the present day. The accounts of actual cases which range from theft, banditry, murder, fornication and apostasy shed light on the complexities of the law.

Rudolf Peters is Professor of Islamic law at Amsterdam University. He has published extensively on modern Islam and Islamic law. His books include Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam (1996) and Sharia Criminal Law in Northern Nigeria (2003).

Acknowledgements; Maps; 1. Introduction; 2. The classical doctrine; 3. The implementation of Islamic criminal law in the pre-modern period: the Ottoman Empire; 4. The eclipse of Islamic criminal law; 5. Islamic criminal law today; 6. Conclusion; Glossary of technical terms; Bibliography; Suggestions for further reading; Index.