Featuring Fiqh: the Representation of Islamic Law in Egyptian Historical Dramas

Abstract

Abstract Although they may have learned the norms and practices of fiqh at home and in school, most Muslims have scant knowledge of the ways in which their religious laws and mores were practiced in pre-modern times. Indeed, when it comes to imagining and understanding the role of fiqh in earlier Muslim societies, many contemporary Muslims get their information through fictional treatments, particularly from films and television dramas. For Arab Muslims, the relevant medium here is the musalsal, the 30-episode Ramadan drama. This article is a preliminary investigation into the role of fiqh in Egyptian historical films and musalsalāt. Based on collected scenes of fiqh – judges passing sentences, muftis issuing fatwas, teachers instructing, and student discussions – it identifies the issues at stake and analyzes the style of argumentation, the exercise of authority, and the general image of a fiqh-based society created in films and dramas. While the fuqahāʾ only play a minor role in Egyptian film, they are prominent in Arabic historical and religious musalsalāt, often, but not exclusively, produced in Egypt. In these two genres, we have biopics of major religio-legal figures, such as the founders of the four legal schools, major theologians, 19th century reformers, and a few modern ʿulamaʾ. Tracing the evolving treatment of fiqh and fuqahāʾ from the early dramas of the 1980s up to today, this article focuses on the themes of judicial independence, justice for the poor, corruption, and the intellectual process behind rulings. It argues that, overall, the lesson of the musalsalāt is a positive one: Shariʿa works, authoritarian rule has the capacity to be enlightened, and the key to effective leadership is appointing the right people to govern, or judge. The article concludes by discussing these messages in a contemporary Egyptian setting.