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This in depth look at Islamism in Sudan is incredible. Dr. Fluehr-Lobban's work here in the regional is nothing short of amazing. A great read.

Fluehr-Lobban obviously doesn't read secondary literature in any other European languages but English and even there a lot of the standard literature on "Shari'a in the Sudan" is missing. Her rendering of Modern Standard Arabic is completely erratic and follows no system whatsoever, certainly not the IJMES system. It is rather doubtful she is capable of READING Arabic. Why quoting a book by Haydar Ibrahim in a four page summary in English if she could read the original? Why getting a Sudanese scholar to translate legal circulars if she could read these herself? She talks a lot of the many "lady judges" she knows in Khartoum. This is certainly true and her personal knowledge of the country and people is to her credit. However, many judges of the higher echelons of the Sudan judiciary are also prolific writers. Why did she not read and analyze at least some of these books? Because they are all in Arabic? She praises the library of the Sudan judiciary. Where are the magnificent works of this library in the bibliography? Why weren't they used in the book? As to the editing of the book it is abysmal. I.B.Tauris (and the author) have done a very poor job indeed. The book abounds in misspelled names, typos and other errors. Joseph Schacht becomes "Schact", H. Bielefeldt becomes "Bielefelt", Asef Bayat becomes "Beyat", Olivier Roy becomes Oliver Roy and so forth. Asking such a steep price for a book that has not seen any proofreading is bold, to put it mildly.
One example how untrustworthy the information we get really is: On page 114, the first sentence under the headline "The 1991 New Codified Shari'a" reads "The new comprehensive Shari'a Code of Law, with 458 sections, may be seen as totally innovative, although it retains much of colonial law, the Indian Penal Code adapted to Sudan in colonial times, and the evolved family law until 1990". This is a more than strange and very confusing introduction to a chapter that could have shed some light on an interesting chapter in the development of Sudanese legislation. First of all, which law exactly is Dr. Fluehr-Lobban referring to? In 1991, the Sudan introduced a new Criminal Act replacing the Penal Code of 1983. The Penal Code 1983 had indeed 458 sections, the Criminal Act 1991 had only 185 sections. It is entirely unclear why the code in question (and we don't know which one she is referring to) is indeed " totally innovative" if it is retaining "much of colonial law, the Indian Penal Code...". Did she mean to talk about the Criminal Act 1991, as the title of the chapter suggests, and both codes got mixed up? Worse, we "learn" that the "new comprehensive Shari'a Code of Law, with 458 sections" also retains the "evolved family law until 1990". Now the confusion is complete. It is not only entirely unclear which kind of legislation exactly Dr. Fluehr-Lobban is talking about, the Criminal Act 1991 or the Penal Code 1983, she is also mixing criminal legislation with family law (her specialty). It is a mystery how criminal legislation can retain family law.

The below "review" and its five stars should be removed because it is not explained how the "reviewer" reached his judgment. By the way, another book by her received almost verbatim the same exaggerated praise by the same reviewer (next to an array of sports equipment). Very strange indeed. One more thing. Fluehr-Lobban likes to lash out at "Orientalists". This has become common currency among many US Middle East scholars, thanks to Edward Said. They should, however, not forget, that these "Orientalists" they ridicule so much, normally have excellent language skills. Quoting 3, 4 or more European languages was and is nothing noteworthy. In fact, these so-called Orientalists in many respects represent the yard stick contemporary scholars should be measured with. Based on the above and many other flaws not mentioned here I cannot give more than two stars. The two stars are given because the book, despite its many flaws, presents nevertheless some interesting facts. The author has spent many months in the Sudan and spoken to many people in the legal field and elsewhere. This is praiseworthy and could have supplemented her academic analysis. However, the book often slides into the anecdotal while the textual base of its analysis remains shallow. It is a pity that someone with such a long experience in Sudanese matters has given the imprimatur for a manuscript that was not ready yet. Hopefully, the many factual errors, spelling mistakes, weaknesses in structure (the story often meanders back and forth in time) can be corrected in a second edition.