‘This is a very timely book on one of the most disputed legal and cultural issues in Europe today. Andrea Büchler has left no stone unturned to systematize and analyze the scope and limits for the application of Islamic norms in European family laws from private international law to arbitration. The book is extraordinary in its problem-orientated and comparative approach.’   Mathias Rohe, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

‘Deftly written and superbly argued, this book is a must read for all interested in legal pluralism, Muslim family law, and Islam in Europe.’   Seyla Benhabib, Yale University, USA

Cultural and religious identity and family law are inter-related in a number of ways and raise various complex issues. European legal systems have taken various approaches to meeting these challenges.

Andrea Büchler’s book examines this complexity and indicates areas in which conflicts may arise by analysing examples from legislation and court decisions in Germany, Switzerland, France, England and Spain.

It includes questions of private international law, comments on the various degrees of consideration accorded to cultural identity within substantive family law, and remarks on models of legal pluralism and the dangers that go along with them. It concludes with an evaluation of approaches which are process-based rather than institution-based.

About the Author: Professor Dr. Andrea Büchler is Chair of Private and Comparative Law in the Institute of Law, University of Zurich.

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