Dār al Islām Revisited: Territoriality in Contemporary Islamic Legal Discourse on Muslims in the West, by Sarah Albrecht

This review offers a comprehensive analysis of Dār al-Islām Revisited: Territoriality in Contemporary Islamic Legal Discourse on Muslims in the West by Sarah Albrecht, a study that explores the evolving interpretations of classical Islamic territorial concepts such as dār al-Islām and dār al-ḥarb in the context of postcolonial Muslim migration to the West. Based on her doctoral dissertation, Albrecht’s work bridges historical jurisprudence and contemporary discourse to examine how these concepts have been reappropriated by Muslim scholars, activists, and institutions to address issues of identity, authority, and legal belonging in a globalized world. The book is structured around a typology of four interpretive trends, ranging from strict traditionalists to reformist voices who seek to transcend geo-religious boundaries altogether. Through detailed historical analysis and contemporary case studies, Albrecht demonstrates how territoriality has shifted from a rigid legal category to a flexible and contested discursive tool. The review highlights the book’s central argument that the reconceptualization of territorial distinctions is not merely a doctrinal exercise but a vital response to the lived realities of Muslims in the West. It also underscores the implications of these debates for the discipline of fiqh, especially in light of the democratization of Islamic knowledge and the decentralization of legal authority beyond the traditional scholarly elite.