Islamic Law in the News:
- Nailah Dean, writer and activist, has introduced her “ISMS Project,” comprising a series of images to demonstrate what she terms the “Muslim Marriage Crisis” in an age of “digital, hyper-visual time” that represent sexism, ageism, racism, and colorism. The project represents, in addition to these four “-isms,” the Muslim woman’s defiance of them.
- Contemporary Muslim artists living in the United States and Europe are re-envisioning the Islamic prayer rug through innovative designed, with the intention to combat misperceptions about Islam.
- In an interview with The Associated Press, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, one of the founders of the Taliban, dismissed outrage over the Taliban’s executions and punishments in the past, stating “[n]o one will tell us what our laws should be. We will follow Islam and we will make our laws on the Quran.”
- Waheedullah Hashimi, a senior figure in the Taliban, stated that it was forbidden for men and women to work together under Islamic law, commenting “[m]en and women cannot work together. That is clear. They are not allowed to come to our offices and work in our ministries.”
- Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that they will “establish ‘potent and effective’ administration for women under Sharia law,” after replacing the sign at the entrance of the Ministry of Women Affairs with the Ministry for the “Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.”
- Clerics from Egypt‘s famous Al- Azhar who had taught in Afghanistan have stated that they hoped the Taliban government would spread Islam’s tolerant message.
For more content and context on the recent developments in Afghanistan, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb‘s “Resource Roundup: Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Islamic Law.“
On COVID-19 and Islamic Law:
- Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School (Blackburn, England) has been commended for its “digital transformation” prior to and during the pandemic.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities:
- Webinar: “When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and Nationalism” The Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative, September 28, 2021 @ 1:00 – 2:15 pm.
- Conference: “‘Sharī’a and gender,” Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the CSIC, September 28, 2021 @ 1:00 pm.
- Conference: “The ‘fatwa’ as a product and vector of Islamic legal culture,” Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the CSIC, September 29, 2021 @ 1:00 pm.
- Workshop: Islamicate Digital Humanities Network (IDHN) Digitization Workshop, September 29, 2021.
- Position opening: Assistant Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Tennessee, Fall 2022.