This collection of essays offers comparative historical and anthropological perspectives on the ways in which French and British colonial administrations interacted with the diversity of Islamic legal schools, scholars, and practices in Africa. It takes the colonial impress on Islamic legal practice in Africa through to the post-colonial and contemporary periods through a look at the experiences of several African states with their Muslim citizens' struggles for their right to practice important aspects of Islamic law particularly family law. A substantial introduction sets the individual essays in a broader global comparative colonial frame and the tradition of Islamic legal scholarship and ties together the various points of contrast and comparison on key questions relating to Islamic law in Africa.