CALL FOR PAPERS

Historical Perspectives on Islamic Economic Law and Islamic Family Law

We are pleased to invite scholars, researchers, and academics to contribute to a Special Issue on “The History of Islamic Law in Indonesia,” with a particular focus on Islamic Economic Law and Islamic Family Law from historical perspectives.

This Special Issue aims to explore the historical development, transformation, institutionalization, and changing practices of Islamic law in Indonesia. It seeks to examine how Islamic legal norms, institutions, and practices have evolved in response to changing social, political, economic, cultural, and colonial and post-colonial contexts.

By placing historical approaches at the center of analysis, this Special Issue invites contributions that move beyond purely normative or doctrinal discussions and instead investigate the historical processes through which Islamic law has been interpreted, practiced, negotiated, institutionalized, and transformed in Indonesia.

Themes and Scope

We particularly welcome original research articles addressing the following two sub-themes:

1. Islamic Economic Law: A Historical Perspective

This theme explores the historical development of Islamic economic law and economic practices among Indonesian Muslim communities, as well as their interaction with customary law, colonial legal systems, and state law.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• The historical development of Islamic economic law in Indonesia
• Islamic commercial practices in the pre-colonial period
• Islamic economic practices during the Dutch colonial period
• The transformation of Islamic economic norms in the colonial and post-colonial periods
• The history of Islamic trade, contracts, and commercial transactions
• The historical development of zakat, waqf, and Islamic philanthropy
• The emergence and development of Islamic banking and Islamic financial institutions
• The history of Islamic cooperatives and other Sharia-based economic institutions
• The historical development of fatwa on Islamic economic transactions
• The role of ulama and Islamic organizations in shaping Islamic economic law
• The interaction between Islamic law, customary law, and state law in economic affairs
• The institutionalization and codification of Islamic economic law
• The historical development of Sharia economic legislation and regulation
• The development of contemporary Islamic economic law from historical perspectives
• Historical approaches to understanding current challenges in Islamic finance and Sharia economic regulation

2. Islamic Family Law: A Historical Perspective

This theme focuses on the historical development and transformation of Islamic family law in Indonesia, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardianship, and other aspects of Muslim family life.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• The historical development of Islamic family law in Indonesia
• Marriage and divorce practices among Indonesian Muslim communities
• Islamic family law during the pre-colonial period
• The transformation of Islamic family law under Dutch colonial rule
• The interaction between Islamic law, customary law, and colonial law
• The role of ulama and Islamic scholars in the development of family law
• The historical development of Muslim marriage regulation
• The emergence and transformation of Islamic marriage legislation
• The history of Islamic courts and their role in family law
• The historical development of divorce and reconciliation practices
• The history of inheritance law among Indonesian Muslims
• The development and historical significance of the Kompilasi Hukum Islam (Compilation of Islamic Law)
• The history of Islamic family law reform in Indonesia
• Gender and the historical transformation of Islamic family law
• The role of Islamic organizations in family law reform
• The influence of transnational Islamic legal thought on Indonesian family law
• Historical perspectives on contemporary debates in Islamic family law

Historical Approaches

We particularly encourage manuscripts that employ historical approaches to Islamic law, including but not limited to:

• Legal history
• Intellectual history
• Social history
• Institutional history
• Political and legal history
• History of Islamic legal thought
• History of fatwa and Islamic legal authority
• Historical analysis of legislation and legal institutions
• Archival research
• Historical analysis of court decisions and legal documents
• Oral history and historical ethnography
• Comparative historical approaches

Contributors are encouraged to utilize primary historical sources, such as archival documents, manuscripts, fatwa collections, court records, colonial legal documents, legislation, newspapers, organizational records, correspondence, and other relevant historical materials.

Objectives of the Special Issue

This Special Issue seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of Islamic law in Indonesia by examining law as a historically situated and continuously evolving phenomenon.

The issue aims to address questions such as:

• How has Islamic law developed and transformed throughout Indonesian history?
• How have Islamic legal norms interacted with customary, colonial, and state legal systems?
• What roles have ulama, Islamic organizations, courts, and state institutions played in shaping Islamic law?
• How have social, political, and economic changes influenced the interpretation and implementation of Islamic law?
• How can historical analysis provide a deeper understanding of contemporary Islamic Economic Law and Islamic Family Law in Indonesia?

Through these questions, the Special Issue seeks to bring together historical, legal, and interdisciplinary scholarship that illuminates the complex relationship between Islamic legal traditions and Indonesia's changing social and legal landscape.

Submission Guidelines

We invite submissions of original research articles that make a substantial scholarly contribution to the study of Islamic law in Indonesia.

Submitted manuscripts should:

• Present an original and clearly formulated research question.
• Employ a sound historical, legal-historical, or interdisciplinary methodology.
• Engage critically with relevant primary and secondary sources.
• Demonstrate the historical context of the legal issues under discussion.
• Provide a clear argument and significant scholarly contribution.
• Be written in academic English.
• Have not been previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal.
• Follow the journal's manuscript preparation and citation guidelines.