Alan Verskin

This dissertation traces how Muslim jurists responded to European influence and forms of modernization by reappropriating tradition to deal with new cultural realities. It documents this intellectual evolution by analyzing two legal anthologies, both written during political crises. Al-Wansharisi’s work (1485-1508) was written as Christian forces completed their conquest of Muslim Spain and threatened parts of North Africa. Al-Wazzani wrote in the nineteenth century when the French already occupied Algeria and threatened Morocco. During this period, it became clear that North African independence depended upon adopting Western ideas and technologies. Al-Wazzani searched through his legal tradition to update Al-Wansharisi’s work by finding Islamic ways to authentically respond to the challenges of modernization.

Dissertation: "Early Islamic Legal Responses to Living under Christian Rule: Reconquista-era Development and 19th-Century Impact in the Maghrib"