Islamic Law in the News Roundup

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ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS

  • “[T]he U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva reportedly confirmed that ‘anecdotal evidence’ about [Afghan] girls being permitted to attend Islamic schools was mounting, [along with] worried about whether the girls would be able to study modern subjects in the madrassas and that a generation of Afghan girls were falling behind.”
  • In response, “[a] Taliban official sa[id that] Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in Islamic religious schools that are traditionally boys-only.” 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.”
  • “Iranian police [recently] closed a major bookshop in the centre of the capital Tehran for allowing unveiled women to enter the premises without a compulsory headscarf, a newspaper reported.”
  • “Hours after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced there would be no restrictions on hijab (head scarf) in educational institutions in Karnataka [India], Union minister Giriraj Singh said: ‘This is not merely lifting of the ban on hijab but the establishment of Sharia law in the state.'”
  • “On December 16, Saudi Arabia’s highly anticipated Civil Transactions Law came into effect, and expected to have a favourable impact on the business environment.”
  • “Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) director, Harith Fadzilah Abdul Halim, warned that Muslim men [in Malaysia] in the state could still face legal action for the offence of enticing married women under the state’s Syariah criminal law,” after a court invalidated an arguably similar penal code provision as unconstitutional.
  • “A member of the Saudi advisory Shoura Council has proposed amending the kingdom’s anti-drug law to allow abolishing flogging as a form of punishment, a Saudi news portal has reported.” For more content and context on harsh interpretations and applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb’s “Resource Roundup: Islamic Criminal Law.” For more news blurbs relating to harsh applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our “Islamic Criminal Law in the News Roundup.”
  • “Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad [of Malaysia] […] said that the bill to limit the sale of cigarettes has been passed and he is in no position to make it haram by Islamic law: ‘I am not a mufti to make cigarettes haram.'”

CASES AND FATWĀS

  • “The High Court [of Malaysia stated that it] will hear a Muslim convert’s application to quash a shariah appeals court order which struck out his appeal [to renounce Islam] for failure to comply with the rules of service.”
  • “The contentious issue of crab consumption in Islamic law, due to the creature’s existence in both terrestrial and aquatic spheres, known as ‘al-hayawan al-barma’i,’ has sparked a wide-ranging debate among different Islamic schools of thought.”

UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

PIL & Harvard Calendar:

Global Calendar:

  • Fellowship September 2024-May 2025: Crown Center for Middle East, Brandeis University, January 1, 2024.
  • Panel on Islamic Law and Constitutionalism: AALS 2024 Meeting, January 4, 2024.
  • Request for Open Submissions: AALS 2023 Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2023. Submission deadlines vary.
  • International Conference: Islamic Theology: Uniting Diverse Voices, ISTAC-IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 18-19, 2024.
  • Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): The jurisprudential corpus and the history of Ibadism in medieval Libya: additions and difficulties, January 24, 2024.
  • Fellowship: Kamel Center at Yale Law School, 2024-2025, January 31, 2024.
  • Position opening: Postdoctoral opportunity in History of Islam/Arabic Studies, Leiden University, February 1, 2024.
  • Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Looking for Libya in Coptic-Arabic historiographical sources, February 21, 2024.
  • Book award: The Sharmin & Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University, April 1, 2024.
  • Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Partnership for Heritage. Documentation and heritage management for the protection of the Nafousa Mountains, April 17, 2024.
  • Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Between Ṭarābulus and Aṭrābulus. The journey of the toponym and difficulties in determining its form, May 22, 2024.
  • Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Surveying and documentation of the archaeological city of Barca (Al-Marj), June 26, 2024.
  • Symposium on Copyright in Islamic Legal Tradition, Istanbul, June 28-29, 2024.
  • Search for Editor: International Journal of Middle East Studies, until an appointment is made.
  • Internship opportunity: The Executive Office of the President, White House, various deadlines.
  • Position opening: Academic mentor and field researcher in Iraq, Cordoba Peace Institute-Geneva (CPI) & ETH Zurich, rolling basis.
  • Position opening: Academic mentor for researcher in Mogadishu, Cordoba Peace Institute-Geneva (CPI) & ETH Zurich.
  • Call for Papers: Special Section – Lifewriting Annual and Islam.
  • Call for Manuscripts: Advances in the Study of Islam, Edinburgh University Press.

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