At a time when more nuanced understandings of Muslim countries and their legal and social practices are urgently needed in the West, the appearance of this collection is especially welcome. In these illuminating and accessible essays, the contributors explain how Islam sees itself in terms of social policy, how it treats women, and how it encourages charity, education, and general social welfare.

The essays encompass many regional cultures and draw on court records and legal debates, field work on government ministries, and an extensive reading of Islamic law. In his overview of...

At a time when more nuanced understandings of Muslim countries and their legal and social practices are urgently needed in the West, the appearance of this collection is especially welcome. In these illuminating and accessible essays, the contributors explain how Islam sees itself in terms of social policy, how it treats women, and how it encourages charity, education, and general social welfare.

The essays encompass many regional cultures and draw on court records and legal debates, field work on government ministries, and an extensive reading of Islamic law. In his overview of...

A look at the challenges facing education in Central Asia. In many ways, the story of education since the beginning of the transition in Central Asia is integrated with similar processes in other parts of the former Soviet Union. It may not explain everything, but understanding the challenges throughout the 15 former republics is helpful in understanding the progress and setback in the Central Asian Republics. Most importantly, the Central Asia republics have demonstrated their independence in the adherence of Western-recommendations; they have articulated their demand for respect on their...

Education is commonly thought to be a haven for the young. No matter how unstable the polity, no matter how dismal the prospects for the economy, education investments are often treated as sacrosanct. This is one reason for the popularity of education as part of foreign aid. Who could object to providing more opportunity for young people to study? Recently however, it has been discovered that education systems can be as corrupt as other parts of government and the economy; and that values of fairness and impartiality, once thought to be universal characteristics of education systems, can be...