Kosovar Muslims and the Hanafi School: Legal Interpretations in a Post-Ottoman Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35719/tax7pc07This article explores the enduring influence of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence among Kosovar Muslims in the post-Ottoman era, focusing on its legal interpretations and social implications. The study examines how the Hanafi tradition, which was institutionalized during Ottoman rule, has shaped legal practices and community norms in Kosovo amidst socio-political transformations, including the transition to a secular legal framework. Drawing on historical analysis, legal documents, and interviews with religious scholars, this research investigates the application of Hanafi jurisprudence in areas such as marriage, inheritance, and community dispute resolution. The findings reveal a dynamic interplay between adherence to traditional Hanafi principles and adaptations to modern legal and societal contexts. While the Hanafi framework remains a cornerstone of religious identity and practice, contemporary challenges—such as legal pluralism, secular governance, and globalization—have prompted nuanced reinterpretations to align with the changing needs of the Muslim community in Kosovo. This study underscores the role of Islamic jurisprudence in shaping communal and individual identities in a post-Ottoman context. It highlights the resilience and adaptability of the Hanafi school while contributing to broader discussions on integrating Islamic traditions within modern legal systems. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of localized approaches to Islamic jurisprudence that respect historical legacies while addressing contemporary realities.
Downloads
References
Ansari, Zafar Ishaq. 2018. “The Early Development of Islamic Fiqh in Kūfah with Special Reference to the Works of Abū Yūsuf and Shaybānī.” Islamic Studies 57 (1/2): 103–58.
Arev, Marija, Emilija Janevik-Ivanovska, Katarina Smilkov, and Marija Darkovska-Serafimovska. 2018. “The Role of Radiopharmaceuticals in Individualized Diagnostic and Therapy.”
Arwani, Agus, Stenly Salenussa, Nurul Widyawati Islami Rahayu, Muhammad Fauzinudin Faiz, Pandu Adi Cakranegara, Abdul Aziz, and Andiyan Andiyan. 2022. “The Development Of Economic Potential Of People In Pandemic Through Earning Zakat Distribution.” International Journal of Professional Business Review 7 (2): e0414. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i2.414.
Ayoub, Samy. 2015. “The Mecelle, Sharia, and the Ottoman State: Fashioning and Refashioning of Islamic Law in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.” Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association 2 (1): 121–46.
Ayoub, Samy A. 2019. Law, Empire, and the Sultan: Ottoman Imperial Authority and Late Hanafî Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=BTG-DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Late+Hanafi+Law+in+the+Ottoman+Empire&ots=Wz6RM6ipYC&sig=DSvu3o6mYib8BgYWv0EM2j1z7i8.
Barker, Joshua, Johan Lindquist, Tom Boellstorff, Chris Brown, Aryo Danusiri, Dadi Darmadi, Sheri Gibbings, et al. 2009. “Figures of Indonesian Modernity.” Indonesia, no. 87, 35–72.
Bröning, Michael, and Holger Weiss. 2006. “Politischer Islam in Westafrika: Eine Bestandsaufnahme.” https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=293871108.
Burak, Guy. 2013. “The Second Formation of Islamic Law: The Post-Mongol Context of the Ottoman Adoption of a School of Law.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 55 (3): 579–602.
———. 2015. The Second Formation of Islamic Law. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=aaBEBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=The+Second+Formation+of+Islamic+Law:+The+Hanafi+School+in+the+Early+Modern+Ottoman+Empire%22+oleh+Guy+Burak&ots=6mNiqopauY&sig=WRV379Z-u2JyW_nl27F99AEW8QY.
Calder, Norman. 1979. “Judicial Authority in Imami Shi’i Jurisprudence.” Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies) 6 (2): 104–8.
Clayer, Nathalie. 2001. Islam et Identité Nationale Dans l’espace Albanais (Albanie, Macédoine, Kosovo) 1989-1998. 115. Éditions de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales. https://journals.openedition.org/assr/18443.
Dragaj, Arsim, and Alban Maliqi. 2019. “APPLICATION OF THE LAW AND PREVENTION OF ECONOMIC CRIME IN KOSOVO.” KNOWLEDGE-International Journal 30 (6): 1491–95.
Eaton, John K., Laura Furst, Richard A. Ruberto, Dieter Moosmayer, André Hilpmann, Matthew J. Ryan, Katja Zimmermann, Luke L. Cai, Michael Niehues, and Volker Badock. 2020. “Selective Covalent Targeting of GPX4 Using Masked Nitrile-Oxide Electrophiles.” Nature Chemical Biology 16 (5): 497–506.
Emon, Anver M. 2010. Islamic Natural Law Theories. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=qG0Cl-UeyZEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=Emon,+Anver.+2012.+Islamic+Natural+Law+Theories.+Oxford:+Oxford+University+Press&ots=v0MwXfX1Jq&sig=oFveQSGIH7thSoBzqKsQbLjxZQQ.
Faisal, Ahmad, Mustaqim Pabbajah, Irwan Abdullah, Nova Effenty Muhammad, and Muh Rusli. 2022. “Strengthening Religious Moderatism through the Traditional Authority of Kiai in Indonesia.” Cogent Social Sciences 8 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2150450.
Hallaq, Wael B. 2004. The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511818783.
Hurvitz, Nimrod. 2013. “The Contribution of Early Islamic Rulers to Adjudication and Legislation: The Case of the Mazalim Tribunals.” In Law and Empire, 133–56. Brill. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789004249516/B9789004249516_008.pdf.
Imamović, Adisa. 2006. “Limitations on Metonymic Uses of–Ion Nominalizations.” Jezikoslovlje 7 (1+ 2): 45–65.
Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. 1999. “‘Maqāṣid Al-Sharī’ah’: The Objectives of Islamic Law.” Islamic Studies 38 (2): 193–208.
Karimullah, Suud Sarim. 2022. “Pursuing Legal Harmony: Indonesianization of Islamic Law Concept and Its Impact on National Law.” Mazahib 21 (2): 213–44.
Karimullah, Suud Sarim, and Arif Sugitanata. 2023. “The Hanafi School of Islamic Jurisprudence Literature: A Historical Account.” Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript 2 (1): 1–20.
Kastrati, Ardian. 2015. “The Relationship between Islam and Democracy in Kosovo: The Roles and Contributions of the Religious Leaders in the Democratization Process.” European Scientific Journal October. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2910627.
Kidwell, Roland E, Franz W Kellermanns, and Kimberly A Eddleston. 2012. “Harmony, Justice, Confusion, and Conflict in Family Firms: Implications for Ethical Climate and the ‘Fredo Effect.’” Journal of Business Ethics 106 (4): 503–17.
Krasniqi, Gëzim. 2016. “Revisiting Nationalism in Yugoslavia: An Inside-Out View of the Nationalist Movement in Kosovo.” In Debating the End of Yugoslavia, 225–40. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315576039-17/revisiting-nationalism-yugoslavia-inside-view-nationalist-movement-kosovo-g%C3%ABzim-krasniqi.
Kreutzwiser, Reid, Rob De Loë, Krystian Imgrund, Mary Jane Conboy, Hugh Simpson, and Ryan Plummer. 2011. “Understanding Stewardship Behaviour: Factors Facilitating and Constraining Private Water Well Stewardship.” J Environ Manag 92 (4): 1104–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.11.017.
Kursani, Shpend. 2020. “Salafi Pluralism in National Contexts: The Secular State, Nation and Militant Islamism in Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia.” In International-Led Statebuilding and Local Resistance, 150–66. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003000730-9/salafi-pluralism-national-contexts-secular-state-nation-militant-islamism-kosovo-albania-macedonia-shpend-kursani.
Langford, Dale J., Andrea L. Bailey, Mona Lisa Chanda, Sarah E. Clarke, Tanya E. Drummond, Stephanie Echols, Sarah Glick, et al. 2010. “Coding of Facial Expressions of Pain in the Laboratory Mouse.” Nature Methods 7 (6): 447–49. https://doi.org/10.1038/NMETH.1455.
Lederer, Gyorgy. 1994. “Islam in Albania.” Central Asian Survey 13 (3): 331–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/02634939408400866.
Makdisi, George. 1979a. “The Significance of the Sunni Schools of Law in Islamic Religious History.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 10 (1): 1–8.
———. 1979b. “The Significance of the Sunni Schools of Law in Islamic Religious History.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 10 (1): 1–8.
———. 1979c. “The Significance of the Sunni Schools of Law in Islamic Religious History.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 10 (1): 1–8.
Malcolm, Dominic, Alan Bairner, and Graham Curry. 2010. “‘Woolmergate’: Cricket and the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the British Press.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues 34 (2): 215–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723510367768.
Masud, Muhammad Khalid. 2005. “Teaching of Islamic Law and Sharī’ah: A Critical Evaluation of the Present and Prospects for the Future.” Islamic Studies 44 (2): 165–89.
McFarlane, Alexander C., and Fran H. Norris. 2006. “Definitions and Concepts in Disaster Research.” https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-11794-001.
Mehmeti, Armend, and Memli Sh Krasniqi. 2018. “Kosovo.” In Islamic Leadership in the European Lands of the Former Ottoman and Russian Empires, 144–61. Brill. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/edcoll/9789004352681/B9789004352681_009.pdf.
Melchert, Christopher. 2001. “Traditionist-Jurisprudents and the Framing of Islamic Law.” Islamic Law and Society 8 (3): 383–406.
Miličević, Nevenka, Marica Kristić, Aurelija Majdenić-Štaba, Darija Azenić-Venžera, Hrvoje Čenohorski, Dražen Vidović, Goran Kondža, Edo Džumhur, Gordana Kristek, and Slavica Kvolik. 2008. “Pain Relief after Balanced Anaesthesia and Total Intravenous Anaesthesia Using Propofol/Fentanyl, a Prospective Open Study.” In 9. Hrvatski Kongres Endoskopske Kirurgije, 90–90. https://www.croris.hr/crosbi/publikacija/resolve/croris/693708.
Nadi, Basir Ahmad. 2024. “Causes of the Multiplicity of Jurisprudential Narratives in Hanafi Fiqh.” Baharestan Scientific Research Quarterly Journal, 129–46.
Pourshams, Akram, Hooman Khademi, Akbar Fazeltabar Malekshah, Farhad Islami, Mehdi Nouraei, Ali Reza Sadjadi, Elham Jafari, Nasser Rakhshani, Rasool Salahi, and Shahryar Semnani. 2010. “Cohort Profile: The Golestan Cohort Study—a Prospective Study of Oesophageal Cancer in Northern Iran.” International Journal of Epidemiology 39 (1): 52–59.
Powers, David S. 2010. “Wael B. Hallaq on the Origins of Islamic Law: A Review Essay.” Islamic Law and Society 17 (1): 126–57.
Rexhepi, Piro. 2019. “Imperial Inventories, ‘Illegal Mosques’ and Institutionalized Islam: Coloniality and the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” History and Anthropology 30 (4): 477–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2019.1611575.
Richemond-Barak, Daphné. 2011. “The International Court of Justice on Kosovo: Missed Opportunity or Dispute ‘Settlement’?” In Hague Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire de La Haye de Droit International, Vol. 23 (2010), 1–16. Brill Nijhoff. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/edcoll/9789004244689/BP000002.pdf.
Rottner, Laura, Andreas Metzner, Feifan Ouyang, Christian Heeger, Kentaro Hayashi, Thomas Fink, Christine Lemes, et al. 2017. “Direct Comparison of Point‐by‐Point and Rapid Ultra‐High‐Resolution Electroanatomical Mapping in Patients Scheduled for Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation.” Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology 28 (3): 289–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/jce.13160.
Safari, Esfandiar, and Ali Sadeqi. 2022. “A Comparative Study of the Legitimacy of the Conditional Sale in Hanafi Jurisprudence and Imami Jurisprudence.” Fiqhe Moqaran 10 (19): 85–104.
Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2021. “Experiences of Muslims in Western Europe.” In Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives, edited by Ronald Lukens-Bull and Mark Woodward, 147–69. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32626-5_13.
Sells, MICHAEL. 1999. “„Balkan Islam and the Mythology of Kosovo “.” ISIM Newsletter 3 (1): 31–31.
Sofiandi, Sofiandi, and Imam Hanafi. n.d. “Islam, Politics And Society In Asia-Pacific.” Asia-Pacific Journal on Religion and Society 6 (2): 98–111.
Taşkömür, Himmet. 2019. “Books on Islamic Jurisprudence, Schools of Law, and Biographies of Imams from the Hanafi School.” In Treasures of Knowledge: An Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library (1502/3-1503/4)(2 Vols), 389–422. Brill. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/edcoll/9789004402508/BP000011.pdf.
Tsafrir, Nurit. 1993. “The Spread of the Hanafi School in the Western Regions of the’Abbasid Caliphate up to the End of the Third Century AH.” PhD Thesis, Princeton University. https://search.proquest.com/openview/1eb62b90770bceeecfc888170c061459/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y.
Zysow, Aron. 1984. “The Economy of Certainty: A Typology of Islamic Legal Theories.” Lockwood Atlanta.
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Mimoza Hatixhe, Sofija Hatice Petrović, Selma Nikolić, Katarina Snežana Ljiljana
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
1.png)
