1. Introduction: religion as empowerment? / Werner Menski, Kyriaki Topidi -- Part I. Religion AS law. 2. Islam as legal (dis)-empowerment: the dynamic interplay between Italian legal provisions and shariah-compliant norms / Federica Sona -- 3. South African women's legal experiences of Muslim personal law / Waheeda Amien -- 4. Decoding diversity: experiences with personal law in the lower courts of Maharashtra / Kalindi Kokal -- 5. When courts do not finish contentious causes: revisiting the value of religious laws in the Rainbow Nation / Dennis Bonginkosi Xulu -- 6. Shar?'a deconstructed: a new definition of Islamic constitutionalism and its enforcement through positive law / Pietro Longo -- Part II. Religion IN law. 7. Engaging religious laws, players and communities: confronting religious dis-empowerment / Amos Israel-Vleeschhouwer -- 8. Negotiating religious orthodoxy, state neutrality and religious freedom: the case of the Ahmadiyah controversy in post-Suharto Indonesia / Supriyanto Abdi -- 9. Must the infringement of women's rights within religions be tolerated? A Swiss perspective / Adrian Loretan -- 10. Polygyny in Sub-Saharan Africa: a practice that empowers or disempowers women? / Lauren Fielder -- 11. Tolerance of liberal values in Romania: anti-abortion strategies -- between religious belief and civil society mobilisation / Bogdan Mihai Radu, Cosmina Paul -- 12. Public education and religious rights: a comparative analysis / Kyriaki Topidi -- 13. Conclusion: the normative dialogue between religion and law as a cultural endeavour: a plea for complexity and context / Kyriaki Topidi