Research and Scholarship
Dr. Siddiqui’s scholarship focuses on classical Islamic legal theory and political thought, Islamic law under colonialism, contemporary Islamic family law, and issues of gender, authority and participation.
Her research is animated by exploring how Islamic law and its institutions adapted meaningfully to different contexts and changing socio-political contexts. She is committed to translating her scholarship into meaningful public discourse.
published
books
published
books
Law and Politics Under the Abbasids
Law and Politics Under the Abbasids: An Intellectual Portrait of al-Juwayni
An integrated portrait of a major classical scholar, bringing together law, politics, theology, and community to illuminate the contextual nature of Islamic intellectual life.
Cambridge university press →
Cambridge university press →
Cambridge University Press →
Islamic Law on Trial
Islamic Law on Trial: Contesting British Power in Colonial India
An analysis of how Islamic law engaged colonial legal authority in British India, challenging simplistic narratives of resistance and collaboration.
A reflection on the development and future directions of Islamic legal studies as a field.
university of california press →
university of california press →
University of California Press →
Locating the Shari’a: Legal Fluidity in Theory, History and Practice
A reflection on the development and future directions of Islamic legal studies as a field.
brill →
brill →
Brill →
Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui’s research examines how Islamic law and intellectual traditions have developed across changing political and social contexts. Her work traces the relationship between legal theory, authority, and governance—from the classical period to colonial modernity—while engaging contemporary questions of gender, institutional formation, and Muslim public life.
Research
Research
Dr. Siddiqui's research examines how Islamic law and intellectual traditions have developed across changing political and social contexts. Her work traces the relationship between legal theory, authority, and governance—from the classical period to colonial modernity—while engaging contemporary questions of gender, institutional formation, and Muslim public life.
Dr. Siddiqui's research examines how Islamic law and intellectual traditions have developed across changing political and social contexts. Her work traces the relationship between legal theory, authority, and governance—from the classical period to colonial modernity—while engaging contemporary questions of gender, institutional formation, and Muslim public life.
research
research
areas of research
areas of research
Islamic Intellectual Thought
Explores Islamic law and political thought and how they developed and engaged with other intellectual disciplines and developed over time, in response to changing political and social circumstances.
Islamic Intellectual Thought
Explores Islamic law and political thought and how they developed and engaged with other intellectual disciplines and developed over time, in response to changing political and social circumstances.
Contemporary Muslim Societies
Explores how Islamic legal traditions, institutions and ways of being transformed through colonialism and modernity. Also explores how Muslim societies adapted to these changes and religious practice transformed in the process.
Contemporary Muslim Societies
Explores how Islamic legal traditions, institutions and ways of being transformed through colonialism and modernity. Also explores how Muslim societies adapted to these changes and religious practice transformed in the process.
Islamic Law, Women and Family
Explores the contributions and participation of Muslim women historically. In cthe contemporary world, the focus is on the transformation of Islamic family law and its application in Muslim countries.
Islamic Law, Women and Family
Explores the contributions and participation of Muslim women historically. In cthe contemporary world, the focus is on the transformation of Islamic family law and its application in Muslim countries.
selected articles and essays
selected articles & essays
Power vs. Authority: al‑Juwaynī’s Intervention in Pragmatic Political Thought
This article examines al-Juwayni’s political theory, exploring how he navigated the tension between moral authority and political power. It analyzes his pragmatic interventions in times of instability and highlights his influence on the development of Sunni political thought.
JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC STUDIES →
Good Scholarship/Bad Scholarship: Consequences of the Heuristic of Intersectional Islamic Studies
This study critiques the methodological trends within contemporary Islamic Studies, particularly the heuristic use of intersectionality. It evaluates both the strengths and unintended consequences of this approach for academic rigor and intellectual coherence.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION →
Triple-Talaq and the Political Context of Islamic Law in India
Triple-Talaq and the Political Context of Islamic Law in India
This article investigates the legal and political debates surrounding triple-talaq in India. It situates the controversy within broader questions of religious freedom, state intervention, and the evolving role of Islamic law in a modern constitutional framework.
This article investigates the legal and political debates surrounding triple-talaq in India.
HARVARD JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC LAW →
The Politics of Religious Non-Interference: Islamic Legal Reform in Colonial India
A research article exploring the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and debates over religious non-interference in colonial India, highlighting legal reform, communal contestation, and shifting constructions of Muslim legal authority. It traces the political nature of legal reform of Islamic law from colonial to post-colonial contexts.
DIE WELT DES ISLAMS →
Navigating Colonial Power: Challenging Precedents and the Limitation of Local Elites
This article explores a court case in colonial India adjudicated by a Muslim judge to demonstrate how he interpreted points of Islamic law within an English legal framework, and how his interpretation contradicted Islamic law, yet became a legal precedent.
JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC LAW AND SOCIETY →
Status of Muslim Women in Modern Family and Personal Law
This piece explores genealogy and tradition as methodological tools in Islamic Studies. It examines how intellectual lineages and transmitted knowledge shape authority, interpretation, and continuity within the Islamic scholarly tradition. It also considers how these methods challenge authorship.
OXFORD HANDBOOK ISLAMIC LAW →
The Politics of Religious Non-Interference: Islamic Legal Reform in Colonial India
A research article exploring the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and debates over religious non-interference in colonial India.
DIE WELT DES ISLAMS →
Status of Muslim Women in Modern Family and Personal Law
This piece explores genealogy and tradition as methodological tools in Islamic Studies. It examines how intellectual lineages and transmitted knowledge shape authority, interpretation, and continuity within the Islamic scholarly tradition. It also considers how these methods challenge authorship.
OXFORD HANDBOOK ISLAMIC LAW →
Jadal and Qiyās in the 5th/11th Century: Two Debates between al-Juwaynī and al-Shīrāzī
An article exploring a scholarly debate between two Shafi'i scholars in the 5th/11th century to shine light on the nature of dialectical disputation and the development of qiyas in the Shafi'i school.
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY
The Paradoxes of Codifying Islamic Criminal Law in the Maldives
This article explores a modern attempt to integrate Islamic Criminal Law within a contemporary legal penal code. It sheds light on the challenges and concessions made and explores whether the codification of Islamic criminal law is possible.
middle east law and governance →
The Restitution of Conjugal Rights: A Court Judgement in British India by Syed Mahmood
This piece explores a legal decision by a late Muslim colonial judge that results in a legal precedent enabling Muslim men to file cases in court for spousal abandonment.
Islamic law in context: a reader →
Jadal and Qiyās in the 5th/11th Century: Two Debates between al-Juwaynī and al-Shīrāzī
A research article exploring the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and debates over religious non-interference in colonial India.
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY
The Restitution of Conjugal Rights: A Court Judgement in British India by Syed Mahmood
This piece explores a legal decision by a late Muslim colonial judge that results in a legal precedent enabling Muslim men to file cases in court for spousal abandonment.
Islamic law in context: a reader →
Research and Scholarship
Dr. Siddiqui’s scholarship focuses on classical Islamic legal theory and political thought, Islamic law under colonialism, contemporary Islamic family law, and issues of gender, authority and participation.
Her research is animated by exploring how Islamic law and its institutions adapted meaningfully to different contexts and changing socio-political contexts. She is committed to translating her scholarship into meaningful public discourse.
published
books
published
books
Law and Politics Under the Abbasids
Law and Politics Under the Abbasids: An Intellectual Portrait of al-Juwayni
An integrated portrait of a major classical scholar, bringing together law, politics, theology, and community to illuminate the contextual nature of Islamic intellectual life.
Cambridge university press →
Cambridge university press →
Cambridge University Press →
Islamic Law on Trial
Islamic Law on Trial: Contesting British Power in Colonial India
An analysis of how Islamic law engaged colonial legal authority in British India, challenging simplistic narratives of resistance and collaboration.
A reflection on the development and future directions of Islamic legal studies as a field.
university of california press →
university of california press →
University of California Press →
Locating the Shari’a: Legal Fluidity in Theory, History and Practice
A reflection on the development and future directions of Islamic legal studies as a field.
brill →
brill →
Brill →
Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui’s research examines how Islamic law and intellectual traditions have developed across changing political and social contexts. Her work traces the relationship between legal theory, authority, and governance—from the classical period to colonial modernity—while engaging contemporary questions of gender, institutional formation, and Muslim public life.
Research
Research
Dr. Siddiqui's research examines how Islamic law and intellectual traditions have developed across changing political and social contexts. Her work traces the relationship between legal theory, authority, and governance—from the classical period to colonial modernity—while engaging contemporary questions of gender, institutional formation, and Muslim public life.
Dr. Siddiqui's research examines how Islamic law and intellectual traditions have developed across changing political and social contexts. Her work traces the relationship between legal theory, authority, and governance—from the classical period to colonial modernity—while engaging contemporary questions of gender, institutional formation, and Muslim public life.
research
research
areas of research
areas of research
Islamic Intellectual Thought
Explores Islamic law and political thought and how they developed and engaged with other intellectual disciplines and developed over time, in response to changing political and social circumstances.
Islamic Intellectual Thought
Explores Islamic law and political thought and how they developed and engaged with other intellectual disciplines and developed over time, in response to changing political and social circumstances.
Contemporary Muslim Societies
Explores how Islamic legal traditions, institutions and ways of being transformed through colonialism and modernity. Also explores how Muslim societies adapted to these changes and religious practice transformed in the process.
Contemporary Muslim Societies
Explores how Islamic legal traditions, institutions and ways of being transformed through colonialism and modernity. Also explores how Muslim societies adapted to these changes and religious practice transformed in the process.
Islamic Law, Women and Family
Explores the contributions and participation of Muslim women historically. In cthe contemporary world, the focus is on the transformation of Islamic family law and its application in Muslim countries.
Islamic Law, Women and Family
Explores the contributions and participation of Muslim women historically. In cthe contemporary world, the focus is on the transformation of Islamic family law and its application in Muslim countries.
selected articles and essays
selected articles & essays
Power vs. Authority: al‑Juwaynī’s Intervention in Pragmatic Political Thought
This article examines al-Juwayni’s political theory, exploring how he navigated the tension between moral authority and political power. It analyzes his pragmatic interventions in times of instability and highlights his influence on the development of Sunni political thought.
JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC STUDIES →
Good Scholarship/Bad Scholarship: Consequences of the Heuristic of Intersectional Islamic Studies
This study critiques the methodological trends within contemporary Islamic Studies, particularly the heuristic use of intersectionality. It evaluates both the strengths and unintended consequences of this approach for academic rigor and intellectual coherence.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION →
Triple-Talaq and the Political Context of Islamic Law in India
Triple-Talaq and the Political Context of Islamic Law in India
This article investigates the legal and political debates surrounding triple-talaq in India. It situates the controversy within broader questions of religious freedom, state intervention, and the evolving role of Islamic law in a modern constitutional framework.
This article investigates the legal and political debates surrounding triple-talaq in India.
HARVARD JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC LAW →
The Politics of Religious Non-Interference: Islamic Legal Reform in Colonial India
A research article exploring the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and debates over religious non-interference in colonial India, highlighting legal reform, communal contestation, and shifting constructions of Muslim legal authority. It traces the political nature of legal reform of Islamic law from colonial to post-colonial contexts.
DIE WELT DES ISLAMS →
Navigating Colonial Power: Challenging Precedents and the Limitation of Local Elites
This article explores a court case in colonial India adjudicated by a Muslim judge to demonstrate how he interpreted points of Islamic law within an English legal framework, and how his interpretation contradicted Islamic law, yet became a legal precedent.
JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC LAW AND SOCIETY →
Status of Muslim Women in Modern Family and Personal Law
This piece explores genealogy and tradition as methodological tools in Islamic Studies. It examines how intellectual lineages and transmitted knowledge shape authority, interpretation, and continuity within the Islamic scholarly tradition. It also considers how these methods challenge authorship.
OXFORD HANDBOOK ISLAMIC LAW →
The Politics of Religious Non-Interference: Islamic Legal Reform in Colonial India
A research article exploring the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and debates over religious non-interference in colonial India.
DIE WELT DES ISLAMS →
Status of Muslim Women in Modern Family and Personal Law
This piece explores genealogy and tradition as methodological tools in Islamic Studies. It examines how intellectual lineages and transmitted knowledge shape authority, interpretation, and continuity within the Islamic scholarly tradition. It also considers how these methods challenge authorship.
OXFORD HANDBOOK ISLAMIC LAW →
Jadal and Qiyās in the 5th/11th Century: Two Debates between al-Juwaynī and al-Shīrāzī
An article exploring a scholarly debate between two Shafi'i scholars in the 5th/11th century to shine light on the nature of dialectical disputation and the development of qiyas in the Shafi'i school.
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY
The Paradoxes of Codifying Islamic Criminal Law in the Maldives
This article explores a modern attempt to integrate Islamic Criminal Law within a contemporary legal penal code. It sheds light on the challenges and concessions made and explores whether the codification of Islamic criminal law is possible.
middle east law and governance →
The Restitution of Conjugal Rights: A Court Judgement in British India by Syed Mahmood
This piece explores a legal decision by a late Muslim colonial judge that results in a legal precedent enabling Muslim men to file cases in court for spousal abandonment.
Islamic law in context: a reader →
Jadal and Qiyās in the 5th/11th Century: Two Debates between al-Juwaynī and al-Shīrāzī
A research article exploring the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and debates over religious non-interference in colonial India.
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY
The Restitution of Conjugal Rights: A Court Judgement in British India by Syed Mahmood
This piece explores a legal decision by a late Muslim colonial judge that results in a legal precedent enabling Muslim men to file cases in court for spousal abandonment.
Islamic law in context: a reader →