ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books In Defence of Islamic Laws Preface In 1964, Tanganyika parliament passed the "Islamic Law (Restatement) Act", which empowered the minister responsible for legal affairs to prepare and publish a statement of Islamic Law after consultation with learned persons in the Islamic schools of law According to the Standard Tanzania (13.7.67), "It is understood that Tanganyika is the first country to have undertaken the exercise of codifying the Islamic Law in a statutory form.

These statements will greatly assist the courts who have to rely on text books" The Khoja Shi’a Ithna-’Ashari Territorial Council of Tanzania took keen interest in this matter. Mr. Mohamed G. Dhirani then President of the said Council took me to the Attorney Generals Chambers, where I met the lawyer in charge of that project He was a Zanzibarian Muslim. He advised me to write in English the detailed Shi'a law on related matters, for use by his office.

Thus I wrote "Islamic Laws, concerning marriage, dissolution of marriage, acknowledgement, will, inheritance and waqf', Mr. Fidahussein Abdallah Hameer, then Secretary of the said Council, arranged for secretarial help. The papers finally reached Mr. Bashir Rahim, then Senior Parliamentary Draftsman, who finalized four chapters of marriage as accepted by three principal schools of Islamic Law — Shafi’i, Hanafi and Shi'a). It was published, under authority of Mr.

Rashidi Kawawa, then Second Vice-President of Tanzania, who was also responsible for Legal Depts. It appeared as the Subsidiary Legislation under the Restatement of Islamic Law Act (No. 56 of 1964), the Gazette Supplement No. 34 of 27 June, 1967. It was understood that remaining chapters relating to custody of children and divorce etc. would be published by end of the year, and then the laws would come into force. Turning to Kenya Now the scene shifts to Kenya. The Kenyan Govt.

had meanwhile set up a Commission on the laws of marriage, divorce and succession, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Justice Spry of Kenya High Court.