Muslim Family Under Portuguese Rule: Sharīʿa and Matrilineal Custom in Colonial Coastal Northern Mozambique (ca. 1900–1974)

Through analysis of the historical, ethnographic, and legal records, this chapter aims at understanding Portuguese colonial approaches and policies with respect to Islamic legal norms and the regulation of the Muslim family. First, the Portuguese colonial attitudes to sharı̄ʿa, fiqh, and Islamic law as well as customary norms are examined and compared to British, French, and Dutch approaches. Second, the chapter explores how family life was regulated by the coastal northern Mozambican Muslims, as described in the Portuguese colonial sources.