The project, Muftis, Fatwas, and Muslims in the UK – A Study of Islamic Legal Advice, will examine the people who make religious judgements in Britain and the context in which their advice is sought, given and interpreted.
The project is led by Prof Robert Gleave of the University of Exeter, and it is supported by the GW4 Consortium, drawing on expertise and resources from Cardiff University, Exeter, Bristol and Bath.
This project seeks to analyse the processes of providing Islam legal advice—known as iftā’—in a specifically British context.
Three issues are of principle concern:
(i) the study of the content of questions and answers given in Islamic legal verdicts (fatwas) to a British audience;
(ii) the educational path of students training to become Muftis (those qualified to give religious legal advice) in Britain;
(iii) the role and authority of the Mufti with respect to the members of the community seeking legal advice.
The current project is supported by a GW4 Accelerator Fund (after the successful competition of the GW4 Initiator Fund: Understanding Religion and Law) between the University of Exeter, the University of Bristol and Cardiff University.