ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS
- “In September 2023, Morocco embarked on a long-awaited journey of legal reform with the initiation of the family code revision process by King Mohammed VI.”
- The regional government of Catalonia has reportedly imposed a fine on criticizing Islam.
- “Qadi at the High Sharia Court of Appeals in Israel, the highest court of appeals in the array of Sharia courts in Israel, and director of the Sharia Courts in Israel,” Iyad Zahalka, commented on Ramadan: “Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. The Quran commanded Muslims to fast during this month due to its sanctity, since according to Muslim tradition, this is the month in which the Quran was brought to the lower heavens by Allah in preparation for its revelation to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.”
- “In Nigeria’s northern state of Kano, 11 Muslims were apprehended by the Islamic police, known as Hisbah, for eating during daylight hours in violation of the Ramadan fast.”
- “The total volume of Islamic banking in Egypt reached LE 606 billion, showing an increase of LE 110 billion and a growth rate of 22.3 percent compared to 2022, according to a report by The Egyptian Islamic Finance Association (EIFA).”
- Financial experts have recently commented on the innovative tools provided by Islamic social finance, including “Zakat (obligatory almsgiving), Sadaqah (voluntary charity), Waqf (endowment and trusts) and Qarz al-Hasan (benevolent interest-free loans) while innovative developments in the area now also cover Islamic microfinance, Social Sukuk, socially responsible investment and Islamic crowdfunding and ethical investments.”
- “The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs [of Qatar] has announced that it is hosting a number of reputed Islamic scholars from Qatar and abroad to discuss key issues of the Islamic world.”
CASES AND FATWĀS
- The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council declared certain forms of female genital mutilation to be contrary to Islamic law, commenting: ” [T]he removal of the genital organ, or what is known as Pharaonic circumcision [–] Muslim jurists have agreed that this type is illegal because of the harm it inflicts on women.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
PIL & Harvard Calendar:
- Islamic Law Speaker Series: “The Transition of Ottoman Land Law: Theory and Practice between 16th-18th Centuries” with Fatma Gul Karagoz, Program in Islamic Law, April 9, 2024.
- Fellowship: Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program, April 15, 2024.
- Lecture: From Ownership to Partnership: Rethinking the Theory of Marriage in Islamic Law with Havva Guney-Ruebenacker, Harvard Law School, April 17, 2024.
- Islamic Law Speaker Series: “The Umayyad Empire” with Andrew Marsham, Program in Islamic Law, May 14, 2024.
Calendar:
- Conference: The other narratives of early Islam, Goethe-University Frankfurt, March 22-23, 2024.
- Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series: Indian Problems, Yemeni Solutions? Legal Exchanges in the Sixteenth Century, March 25, 2024.
- Book award: The Sharmin & Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University, April 1, 2024.
- Call for Proposals: The 5th Wallace Johnson First Book Mentoring Program, Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University, April 1, 2024.
- Call for Panel Proposals: Conference by Commission on Legal Pluralism and Universitas Indonesia, April 1, 2024.
- Call for Proposals: Open Source Submissions Program, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, April 8, 2024.
- Call for Proposals: Discussion Groups, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, April 8, 2024.
- Conference: Middle East, Law, & Practice, New York University Middle Eastern and North African Law Student Association, NYU School of Law Greenberg Lounge, April 9, 2024.
- Summer Course: “Reading Aljamiado Mansucripts,” Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar, August 12-15, 2024 via Teams (application deadline: April 15, 2024).
- Call for Submissions: Berkeley Law Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law, April 15, 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.
- Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series: Blessed Aristocracies: Charismatic authority, rural elites, and historiography in Medieval Yemen (6th-9th/12th-15th c.), April 22, 2024.
- MESA Scholarship: MESA Global Academy, 2024-2025, May 1, 2024.
- Call for Proposals: Symposium, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, May 6, 2024.
- Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series: History of Water Management in Yemen: An Interdisciplinary Study, May 20, 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.
- Call for Papers: The Medieval Academy at 100, The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America, March 20-22, 2025 (deadline: June 3, 2024).
- Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series: Mapping the Past, Imagining the Future: Heritage Politics in Ḥūthī Yemen, June 24, 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.
- Workshop: ASLH Early Career Virtual Workshop, June 30, 2024.
- Call for Papers: De Jure: Jurnal Hukum dan Syar’iah, June 2024.
- Call for Proposals: Hot Topics Program, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, October 14, 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.