Women outside of Mkokotoni.

Preparing a wedding meal.

Erin Stiles:
Marriage and Divorce Disputes in Zanzibar's Islamic Courts

My dissertation project explores the contemporary practice and understanding of Islamic family law in Zanzibar. The research addresses current anthropological work that suggests Islamic legal traditions are open to interpretation and therefore must be studied contextually within the broader legal landscape. Specifically, I look at the way in which a plurality of sources--social norms, recent state-level statutes, and varied interpretations of religious law--interact in the arbitration of marital disputes to produce a working Islamic law. As in much of the Muslim world, Zanzibar's Islamic (kadhi's) courts are part of the state legal system at both the primary and appellate level and have jurisdiction over family and personal status law for Muslims. Their jurisdiction thus includes marital disputes, divorce suits, inheritance, and child custody.

In my 18 months of field research (1999-2000), funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and Fulbright-Hays, I looked at the way in which cases were handled, resolved and decided in the courts and how disputes were handled outside of the courts. Information was collected primarily through daily observation of the workings of a rural Islamic court in the fishing village of Mkokotoni. Out of court, I researched local norms surrounding marriage, divorce and dispute resolution, perceived rights and duties under the law, and ideas of social responsibility.