This edited volume offers a collection of papers that present a comparative analysis of the development ofSharia in countries with Muslim minorities, such as America, Australia, Germany, and Italy, as well as countries with Muslim majorities, such as Malaysia, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Tunisia.

The Sociology of Sharia provides a global analysis of these important legal transformations and analyzesthe topic from a sociological perspective. It explores examples of non-Western countries that have a Muslim minority in their populations, including South Africa, China, Singapore, and the Philippines.

In addition, the third part of the book includes case studies that explore some ground-breaking theories on the sociology of Sharia, such as the application of Black, Chambliss, and Eisensteins sociological perspectives.

Adam Possamai is Associate Professor in Sociology and is the current President of Research Committee 22 on the Sociology of Religion from the International Sociological Association. James T. Richardson, J.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno and will be the President elect of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religions from October 2012. Bryan S. Turner is the Presidential Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Committee on Religion at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and concurrently the Director of the Centre on Religion and Society at the University of Western Sydney.

1. Introduction: Legal Pluralism and Sharia, Bryan S. Turner and Adam Possamai.- Part 1. Case Studies from Muslim Majority Countries.- 2. One State, Three Legal Systems: Social Cohesion in a Multi-ethnic and Multi-religious Malaysia, Shamsul, A. B.- 3. Modern Law, Traditional Shalish and Civil Society Activism in Bangladesh, Habibul Haque Khondker.- 4. Semi-Official Turkish Muslim Legal Pluralism: Encounters between Secular Official Law and Unofficial Sharia, Ihsan Yilmaz.- Part 2. Case Studies from Muslim Minority Countries.- 5.  Soft Authoritarianism, Social Diversity and Legal Pluralism: The Case of Singapore, Bryan S. Turner.- 6.  The Philippine Sharia Courts and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, Isabelita Solamo-Antonio.- 7. Sharia and Muslim Womens Agency in a Multicultural Context: Recent Changes in Sports Culture, Helen McCue and Ghena Krayem.- 8. Sharia Law in Catholic Italy: A Non-agnostic Model of Accommodation, Vito Breda.- 9. Trial and Error: Muslims and Sharia inthe German Context, Wolf D. Ahmed Aries and James T. Richardson.- 10. Between the Sacred and the Secular: Living Islam in China, Yuting Wang.- 11. The Case of the Recognition of Muslim Personal Law in South Africa: Colonialism, Apartheid and Constitutional Democracy, Wesahl Domingo.- Part 3. Theoretical and Comparative Considerations.- 12. The Constitutionalization of Sharia In Muslim Societies: Comparing Indonesia, Tunisia And Egypt, Arskal Salim.- 13. Legal Pluralism and the Sharia: A Comparison of Greece and Turkey.- Bryan S. Turner and Berna Zengin Arslan.- 14. Contradictions, Conflicts, Dilemmas, and Temporary Resolutions: A Sociology of Law Analysis of Sharia in Selected Western Societies, James T. Richardson.- 15. Perception of Sharia in Sydney and New York Newspapers, Adam Possamai, Bryan Turner, Joshua Roose, Selda Dagistanli and Malcolm Voyce.- 16. Profiting from Sharia: Islamic Banking and Finance in Australia, Salim Farrar.- 17.  Sharia and Multiple Modernities in Western Countries: Toward a Multi-faith Pragmatic Modern Approach Rather Than a Legal Pluralist One? Adam Possamai.- 18. The Future of Legal Pluralism, Bryan S. Turner and James T. Richardson.