Léon Buskens
Director NIMAR
- Name
- Prof.dr. L.P.H.M. Buskens
- Telephone
- 212 53 76 68500
- l.p.h.m.buskens@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Léon Buskens is an anthropologist studying law and culture in Muslim societies. One of his main research interests is how Muslims shape Islam in everyday life, in relation to other practices and to religious teachings. He has a longstanding interest in Morocco, and has more recently also started to do some research in Indonesia (focusing on Maluku and Papua) for comparative purposes.
Curriculum Vitae
Léon Buskens studied anthropology, standard and Moroccan Arabic, and Islam, at Radboud University in Nijmegen, where he specialised in historical and Mediterranean anthropology (BA and MA, both cum laude). His MA thesis was a study of fasting and leisure during the month of Ramadan in Larache (Morocco), based on fieldwork in 1984 and 1985. From 1987 he was a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Law of Leiden University. He did fieldwork and library research in Morocco on Islamic law and family relations, which resulted in a Ph.D. thesis defended in 1993, published as a revised and updated monograph in 1999.
Since 1991 Buskens works as a lecturer on anthropology and Islamic law at the faculties of Humanities and Law of Leiden University. From 1998 until 2008 he also held a chair for Law and Culture of Islam at Utrecht University. Since 2009 he has a chair for Law and Culture in Muslim societies at Leiden University. Since 2009 he is director of the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS) and since 2010 also of the Netherlands Interuniversity School for Islamic Studies (NISIS). Buskens was a visiting fellow at the department of Near Eastern Studies of Princeton University, the Escuela de Estudios Árabes in Granada, and a visiting professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.
Buskens focuses in his research on everyday understandings of Islamic law and customs; textual practices in Muslim societies in a historical perspective (with a strong interest in the writing culture of the`udul, “professional witnesses”, in Morocco); and the history, theories and methods of orientalist and anthropological scholarship. At present he works on two projects: the genesis of the modern legal system in Morocco, and the history of Western understandings of Islamic and customary law.
Some selected publications
Buskens, Léon; 2003
Recent Debates on Family Law Reform in Morocco: Islamic Law as Politics in an Emerging Public Sphere
in: Islamic Law and Society 10(2003) no. 1, pp. 70-131
Buskens, Léon; 2008
Tales according to the Book. Professional Witnesses ( `Udul) as Cultural Brokers in Morocco in: Dupret, Baudouin; Drieskens, Barbara; Moors, Annelies (eds.) Narratives of Truth in Islamic Law
London & New York: I.B. Tauris & Co.
pp. 143-160 & p. 340 (Notes)
Buskens, Léon; 2008
Conversations with Mostapha: Learning about Islamic Law in a Bookshop in Rabat in: Kommers, Jean & Venbrux, Eric (eds.)
Cultural Styles in Knowledge Transmission. Essays in Honour of Ad Borsboom
Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers
pp. 19-24
Buskens, Léon; 2010
Sharia and National Law in Morocco
in: Otto, Jan Michiel (ed.); 2010
Sharia Incorporated. A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present
Leiden: Leiden University Press
pp. 89-138
Buskens, Léon & Dupret, Baudouin; 2011
L'invention du droit musulman. Genèse et diffusion du positivisme juridique dans le contexte normatif islamique.
in: Pouillon, F. & Vatin, J.C. (Eds.), Après l'orientalisme. L'Orient créé par l'Orient
Paris: Karthala
pp. 71-92
Buskens, Léon ; 2012
Le droit de la famille au Maroc
in: Bernard-Maugiron, Nathalie & Dupret, Baudouin (eds.); 2012
Ordre public et droit musulman de la famille. En Europe et en Afrique du Nord
Bruxelles: Emile Bruylant
pp. 97-126
Buskens, Léon; forthcoming
Morocco
in: Brown, Jonathan (ed.)
Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law
New York: Oxford University Press
(Forthcoming)
Director NIMAR
- Faculty of Humanities
- NIMAR
- SMES APT
Work address
Nederlands Instituut Marokko (NIMAR)Avenue Mohamed El Fassi (ex. Av. Marrakech) 3
10010 Rabat
Room number 1.08b
Contact
Professor
- Faculty of Humanities
- NIMAR
- SMES APT
Work address
Nederlands Instituut Marokko (NIMAR)Avenue Mohamed El Fassi (ex. Av. Marrakech) 3
10010 Rabat
Room number 1.08b
Contact
Professor of Law and Culture in Muslim societies
- Faculteit Rechtsgeleerdheid
- Instituut voor Metajuridica
- Van Vollenhoven Instituut
Work address
Nederlands Instituut Marokko (NIMAR)Avenue Mohamed El Fassi (ex. Av. Marrakech) 3
10010 Rabat
Contact
- Berkel M.L.M. van, Buskens L.P.H.M. & Sijpesteijn P.M. (Eds.) (2017), Legal Documents as Sources for the History of Muslim Societies: Studies in Honour of Rudolph Peters. Studies in Islamic Law and Society no. 42. Leiden: Brill.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2016), Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, “Holy War” and Colonial Concerns. In: Zürcher E.J. (Ed.), Jihad and Islam in World War I. Studies on the Ottoman Jihad on the Centenary of Snouck Hurgronje’s “Holy War Made in Germany”. Leiden: Leiden University Press. 29-51.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2016), Scènes de la vie privée et publique des bijoux marocains. In: Barthèlemy G., Casajus D., Larzul S. & Volait M. (Eds.), L’orientalisme après la Querelle. Dans les pas de François Pouillon. Paris: Karthala. 263-285.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2016), Introduction. Dichotomies, Transformations, and Continuities in the Study of Islam. In: Buskens L.P.H.M. & Sandwijk A.M. van (Eds.), Islamic Studies in the Twenty-first Century. Transformations and Continuities. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 11-27.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2016), Middle Eastern Studies and Islam. Oscillations and Tensions in an Old Relationship. In: Buskens L.P.H.M. & Sandwijk A.M. van (Eds.), Islamic Studies in the Twenty-first Century. Transformations and Continuities. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 241-267.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2016), Review of: Bras J.P. (2015), Faire l’histoire du droit colonial. Cinquante ans après l’indépendance de l’Algérie. Paris: Karthala (98): 77-78.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Sandwijk A.M. van (Eds.) (2016), Islamic Studies in the Twenty-first Century. Transformations and Continuities. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2015), La polygamie au quotidien. Notes d' un observateur dans une maison pleine de femmes. In: Dupret B., Rhani Z., Boutaleb A. & Ferrié J.N. (Eds.), Le maroc au présent. D' une époque â une autre, une société en mutation. Casablanca / Rabat: Fondation du Roi Abdul-Aziz Al Saoud pour les Etudes Islamiques et les Sciences Humaines / Centre Jacques Berque pour les Etudes en Sciences Humaines et Sociales. 393-403.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2015), Snouck Hurgronje, Nederland en de islam. In: Kroes G.J. & Overkleeft H. (Eds.), Met Leidse wetenschap de toekomst tegemoet. Leiden: Universiteit Leiden. 39-43.
- Buskens L.P.H.M., Snouck Hurgronje, Nederland en de islam. Leiden Islam Blog. htttp://leiden-islamblog.nl/articles/snouck-hurgronje-nederland-en-de-islam: Universiteit Leiden. [blog entry].
- Dupret B. & Buskens L.P.H.M. (2014), The Invention of Islamic Law: A History of Western Studies of Islamic Normativity and Their Spread in the Orient. In: Pouillon F. & Vatin J.C. (Eds.), After Orientalism: Critical Perspectives on Western Agency and Eastern Re-appropriations. Leiden, Boston: Brill. 31-47.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2014), Sharia and the Colonial State. In: Peters R. & Bearman P. (Eds.), The Ashgate Research Companion to Islamic Law. Farnham: Ashgate. 209-221.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2014), Paper Worlds. A Nesrani Ethnographer Entering the Manuscript Trade in Morocco. In: Almoubaker M. & Pouillon F. (Eds.), Pratiquer les sciences sociales au Maghreb. Textes pour Driss Mansouri. Casablanca: Fondation du Roi Abdul-Aziz Al Saoud pour les Etudes Islamiques et les Sciences Humaines. 239-265.
- Buskens L. & Dupret B. (2013), Qui a inventé le droit musulman? Une histoire des études occidentales de la normativité islamique et leur diffusion en Orient, Maghreb et sciences sociales 2012: 51-61.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Dupret Baudouin (2012), De l'invention du droit musulman à la pratique juridique contemporaine. In: Dupret Baudouin (Ed.), La charia aujourd'hui. Usages de la référence au droit islamique. Paris: La Découverte. 9-17.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2012), Qui a inventé le droit musulman? Une histoire des études occidentales de la normativité islamique et leur diffusion en Orient, Maghreb et sciences sociales 2012: 51-61.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2012), Le droit de la famille au Maroc. In: Bernard-Maugiron N. & Dupret B. (Eds.), Ordre public et droit musulman de la famille. En Europe et en Afrique du Nord. Bruxelles: Emile Bruylant. 97-126.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2011), Wat rechters over sharia en moslims willen weten, Rechtstreeks (4): 113-119.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2011), Islamic Studies in the Dutch Public Sphere. In: Otto J.M. & Mason H. (Eds.), Delicate Debates on Islam. Policymakers and Academics Speaking with Each Other. Leiden: Leiden University Press. 61-68.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2011), The Juynboll Family Library on Islamic and Arabic Studies. In: , Burgersdijk & Niermans, Catalogue Auction 334, November 15-16 2011. Leiden: Burgersdijk & Niermans. 40.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Dupret Baudouin (2011), L'invention du droit musulman. Genèse et diffusion du positivisme juridique dans le contexte normatif islamique. In: Pouillon F. & Vatin J.C. (Eds.), Après l'orientalisme. L'Orient créé par l'Orient. Paris: Karthala. 71-92.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2011), Transacties in de levensloop van Marokkaanse sieraden. In: Mols L. (Ed.), De kracht van zilver. Etnische sieraden uit de collectie Smith-Hutschenruyter. Brussel: Mercatorfonds. 72-79.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2011), Islamstudies als erfenis. Ter nagedachtenis aan Dr G.H.A. Juynboll (1935-2010), ZemZem. Tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en islam 7(1): 115-126.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2010), L’islam dans le système juridique marocain. In: Vanderlinden J. (Ed.), Convictions philosophiques et religieuses et droits positifs. Textes présentés au colloque international de Moncton (24-27 août 2008). Bruxelles: Bruylant. 221-270.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2010), Islamonderzoek in de publieke sfeer, ZemZem. Tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en islam 6(1): 25-32.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Buitelaar M. (12 February 2010), Over de islam bestaat geen vaste waarheid. Politieke en sociale omstandigheden bepalen hoe gelovigen religieuze teksten interpreteren. NRC.next: 22-23.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2010), La polygamie au quotidien. Notes d’un observateur dans une maison pleine de femmes. In: Buitelaar M. (Ed.), Le Maroc de près et de loin. Regards d’anthropologues néerlandais. Rabat: Marsam. 61-72.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2010), Sharia and National Law in Morocco. In: Otto J.M. (Ed.), Sharia Incorporated. A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present. Leiden: Leiden University Press. 89-138.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2008), Een nieuwe wet voor het gezin in Marokko. Enkele elementen uit de Mudawwanavan 2004. Boele-Woelki Katharina (Ed.), Actuele ontwikkelingen in het familierecht. Tweede UCERF symposium. . Nijmegen: Ars Aequi. 31-43.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2008), Conversations with Mostapha: Learning about Islamic law in a Bookshop in Rabat. Kommers Jean & Venbrux Eric (Eds.), Cultural Styles in Knowledge Transmission. Essays in Honour of Ad Borsboom. . Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publi. 19-24.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2008), Tales according to the Book. Professional Witnesses (`Udul) as Cultural Brokers in Morocco. Dupret Baudouin, Drieskens Barbara & Moors Annelies (Eds.), Narratives of Truth in Islamic Law. . London/New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. 143-160.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2007), A Medieval Islamic Law? Some Thoughts on the Periodization of the History of Islamic Law. Vrolijk A.J.M. & Hogendijk J.P. (Eds.), O ye gentlemen. Arabic studies on science and literary Culture. In honour of Remke Kruk. . Leiden: Brill.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2007), Alledaagse polygamie. Notities van een toeschouwer in een huis vol vrouwen. Buitelaar M. (Ed.), Uit en thuis in Marokko. Antropologische schetsen. . Amsterdam: Bulaaq. 668/1677-80/173.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2007), Lokale kennis: Heemkunde tussen nostalgie en kosmopolitisme, Jaarboek Heemkundevereniging Maas- en Swalmdal. . Beesel: Heemkundevereninging Maas- en Swalmdal. 22-32.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2007), Alledaagse polygamie. Notities van een toeschouwer in een huis vol vrouwen. In: Buitelaar M. (Ed.), Uit en thuis in Marokko. Amsterdam: Bulaaq. 68-80.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2007), Understanding Muslims as Citizens of Europe, Europaeum Review 8(1): 24-25.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2007), Understanding Muslims as Citizens of Europe, Europaeum Review 8(1): 24-25.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Kommers J.H.M. (2007), Dutch Colonial Anthropology in Indonesia, Asian Journal of Social Science 35: 352-369.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2006), Sharia en nationaal recht in Marokko. Otto J.M., Dekker A.J. & Soest-Zuurdeeg L.J. van (Eds.), Sharia en nationaal recht in twaalf moslimlanden. . Amsterdam/'s- Gravenhage: Amsterdam University Press/WRR. 43-84.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2006), Doek valt voor 'de winkel van Brill', ZemZem. Tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en islam 2(2): 106/157-114/158.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2006), Vanishing Orientalism in Leiden, ISIM Review 18: 44-45.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2006), Luchtmans, Brill and Smitskamp: Scholarly Booksellers in Leiden, 1683-2006. Burgersdijk & Niermans (Ed.), Auction Sale 323. Books-Prints-Manuscripts. 16-17 May 2006. Including the Libraries of : Dr. J.J. Fraenkel; Dr. L. Meihuizen. Part 1 of the Stock and Reference Works of Smitskamp Oriental Antiquarium (Formerly of E.J. Brill). . Leiden: Burgersdijk & Niermans.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2005), Twee negentiende eeuwse ontdekkers van het Islamitisch recht te Delft. Een begin van het debat over theorie en praktijk. Grinten P. van der & Heukels T. (Eds.), Crossing Borders. Essays in European and Private International Law, Nationality Law and Islamic Law in Honour of Frans van der Velden. . Deventer: Kluwer. 153-171.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2005), Twee negentiende eeuwse ontdekkers van het Islamitisch recht te Delft. Een begin van het debat over theorie en praktijk. In: Grinten P. van der & Heukels T. (Eds.), Crossing Borders. Eassays in European and Private International Law, Nationality Law and Islamic Law in Honour of Frans van der Velden. Deventer: Kluwer. 153-171.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Kommers J.H.M. (2004), The East-India Company in Dutch Anthropology. Some Reflections on the Use of VOC-Documents. Huigen S. & Kommers J.H.M. (Eds.), Interpretations of Colonial Representations. Reflections on Alterity, Colonial History, and Intercultural Contact. . Saarbrücken: Verlag für Entwicklungspolitik Saarbrücken GmbH. 113-132.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2004), De gemeenschap der moslims. Opvattingen over islamitische saamhorigheid in theorie en praktijk. Labuschagne B.C. (Ed.), Religie als bron van sociale cohesie in de democratische rechtsstaat? Godsdienst, overheid en civiele religie in een post-geseculariseerde samenleving. Conferentie E.M. Meijers Instituut. Nijmegen: Ars Aequi. 119-144.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2003), Muslim Identity in Dutch Multicultural Society. Borsboom A. & Jespers F. (Eds.), Identity and Religion. A Multidisciplnary Approach. . Saarbrücken: Verlag für Entwicklungspolitik Saarbrücken GmbH. 139-154.
- Borsboom A., Buskens L.P.H.M., Kommers J.H.M. & Notermans N.C. (2003), The Construction of Identity in Anthropology. Borsboom A. & Jespers F. (Eds.), Identity and Religion. A Multidisciplnary Approach. . Saarbrücken: Verlag für Entwicklungspolitik Saarbrücken GmbH. 9-24.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Moors A.C.A.E. (2003), What Happened: Telling Stories about Law in Muslim Societies, Isim Newsletter 13: 59-59.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2003), Oratie Prof. Mr F.J.A. van der Velden, De Molengraver : 18-20.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2003), Recent Debates on Family Law Reform in Morocco: Islamic Law as Politics in an Emerging Public Sphere, Islamic Law and Society 10: 70-131.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2003), Antropologische studies in het Midden-Oosten en van de Islam: Een overzicht van 25 jaar onderzoek in Nederland, Sharqiyyât: Journal of the Dutch Association for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies 15: 149-198.
- Buskens L.P.H.M., Masud M.K. & Moors A.C.A.E. (2003), Anthropology of Islamic Law, Isim Newsletter 12: 9-9.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2003), De amir en de imam. Iraanse echo's in Marokko en de reconstructie van het Malikisme. Seyed-Gohrab A.A., Haar J.G.J. ter & Kon R.E. (Eds.), "De band met u, mijn vriend, verbreek ik niet": Liber Amicorum voor Kamil Banak. . Leiden: Opleiding TCIMO. 33-45.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. & Kommers J.H.M. (2002), The Delayed Reception of Colonial Studies about Adat Law and Islamic Law in Dutch Anthropology. Vermeulen H.F. & Kommers J.H.M. (Eds.), Tales from Academia. History of Anthropology in the Netherlands. Part 2. . Saarbrucken: Verlag fur Entwicklungspolitik Saarbrucken. 733-755.
- Buskens L.P.H.M., Borsboom A.P. & Komeers J.H.M. (2001), Mono Koame: Ethnography as Interdisciplinary Representation. In: Boelaars M.S.C. & Blom A. (Eds.), Mono Koame. Beek: Centre for Pacific & Asian Studies. 13-30.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2001), Wachten op de koning. Recente discussies over islam, familierecht en politiek in Marokko, Justitiële Verkenningen 27(5): 18-31.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2000), An Islamic Triangle. Changing Relationships between Shari'a, State Law, and Local Customs, Isim Newsletter 5: 8-8.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2000), An Islamic Triangle: Changing Relationships between Shariá', State Law, and Local Custom, Isim Newsletter (5): 8-8.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (2000), Sultan voor één dag. Driessen H. & Jonge H. de (Eds.), Miniature etnografiche. . Nijmegen: SUN. 114-118.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1999), Islamitisch recht en familiebetrekkingen in Marokko. Amsterdam: Bulaaq.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1999), Beknopt overzicht van het Islamitisch bewijsrecht: in het bijzonder inzake huwelijkssluiting en huwelijksontbinding. Rutten Susan (Ed.), Recht van de Islam 16: teksten van het op 5 juni 1998 te Leiden gehouden zestiende RIMO-Symposium. . Maastricht: RIMO. 27-58.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1999), Beknopt overzicht van het islamitisch bewijsrecht, in het bijzonder inzake huwelijkssluiting en huwelijksontbinding. In: Rutten S.W.E. (Ed.), Recht van de Islam 16. Maastricht: RIMO. 27-58.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1999), Islamitisch recht en familiebetrekkingen in Marokko. Amsterdam: Bulaaq.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1997), Kutub al-namâdij wa-l-watâiq al-qânûniyya: tatawwur maktûtât al-udûl fî-l-magrib. In: Al-Inânî R. (Ed.), Dirâsat al-maktûtât al-islâmiyya bayna i tibârât al-mâdda wa-l-basar. A-mâl al-mu'tamar al-tânî li-mu'assasat al-furqân li-l-turât al-islâmî. Londen: NN. 197-206.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1997), Commentaires islamiques et codes français. Confrontation et accommodation de deux formes de rédaction du droit de la famille au Maroc. In: Boëtsch G., Dupret B. & Ferrié J.N. (Eds.), Droits et sociétés dans le monde arabe. Perspectives socio-anthropologiques. Aix-en-Provence: Presses universitaires d'Aix-Marseille. 61/217-86/229.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1996) Review. Review of: Khoury R.G. (1996), Chrestomathie de papyrologie arabe. Documents relatifs a la vie privee, sociale et administrative dans les premiers siecle islamiques. no. 5/6. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Bibliotheca Orientalis 53: 851-857.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1995), Mâlikî Formularies and Legal Documents: Changes in the Manuscript Culture of the 'Udûl (Professional Witnesses) in Morocco. In: Dutton Y. (Ed.), The Codicology of Islamic Manuscripts. London: NN. 137-145.
- Buskens L.P.H.M. (1995), De recente hervorming van het Marokkaanse familierecht. In: Rutten S. (Ed.), Recht van de Islam 12. NN: NN. 59-96.