Includes bibliographical references and index.

Editors' introduction : from "common ground" to "clearing ground" : a model for engagement in the 21st century / Anver M. Emon, Mark S. Ellis and Benjamin Glahn -- Narrating law / Kathleen Cavanaugh -- Shari'a and the modern state / Anver M. Emon -- Commentary to "Shari'a and the modern state" and "Narrating law" / Hans Corell -- Islamic law and international law : convergance or conflict? / Mark S. Ellis -- Clearing ground : commentary to "Shari'a and the modern state" / Muhammad Khalid Masud -- Commentary : Shari'a as rule of law / Adel Omar Sherif -- Rethinking the universality of human rights : a comparative historical proposal for the idea of "common ground" with other moral traditions / Nehal Bhuta -- Negotiating speech in Islamic law and politics : flipped traditions of expression / Intisar Rabb -- Freedom of speech : The great divide and the common ground between the United States and the rest of the world / John B Bellinger III and Murad Hussain - Freedom of religion and belief in international law : a comparative analysis / Urfan Khaliq -- Pre-modern Islamic legal restrictions on freedom of religion, with particular reference to apostasy and its punishment / Abdullah Saeed -- The freedom of religion and expression : a rule of law perspective / Malik Imtiaz Sarwar -- Freedom of conscience and religion : a brief reflection / Sumner B. Twiss - Unveiling equality : disciplining the 'other' woman through human rights discourse / Ratna Kapur -- Women in search of common ground : between Islamic and international human rights law / Ziba Mir-Hosseini -- Commentary : Women and Islamic Law / Justice Sandra Day O'Connor -- Musawah, CEDAW, and Muslim family laws in the 21st century / Lynn Welchman -- Religious minorities and Islamic law : accommodation and the limits of tolerance / Anver M. Emon -- The dialectic of International law and the contested approaches to minority rights / Errol Mendes -- Commentary : religious minorities and Islamic law / Justice Richard Goldstone -- Islam vs. the Shari'a : Minority protection within Islamic and international legal traditions / Javaid Rehman -- Epilogue : Common Ground or Clearing Ground? / Robin Lovin.