Jonathan Brown - Navigating the Boundaries of Culture and Religion

About this lecture

In this wide-ranging lecture, Professor Jonathan Brown explores the Islamic legal concepts of *'urf* (custom) and *'ādah* (normative practice) and their role in shaping — but not overriding — the rulings of the Sharia. Drawing on classical scholarship, historical examples from the Ottoman Empire to Southeast Asia, and contemporary issues facing Muslim communities in the West, Brown explains the two categories of Islamic rulings — the unchanging *thābitāt* and the changeable *mutaghayyirāt* — and outlines four levels at which scholars can legitimately accommodate local custom. The lecture offers a nuanced, grounded framework for understanding how Islam navigates the tension between eternal principles and evolving cultural contexts.