ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS
- “Following their reconsolidation of power in 2021, and despite public statements declaring their intent to uphold women’s rights in the country, the Taliban has employed the legal and normative subjugation of women by incrementally degrading their right to vote, pursue education, and work freely.” 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.”
- “More than 1,300 people died making the Islamic pilgrimage of hajj in Saudi Arabia . . . the vast majority of whom the Saudi government said did not have permits.”
- “Ahmad Yahaya [an MP in Malaysia] said Islam and the Federal Constitution uphold a person’s right to freedom of religion, but the freedom is not absolute, as per Article 11(4) which prohibits proselytising Muslims in Malaysia.”
CASES AND FATWĀS
- “Priya, who hails from Palakkad, Kerala was found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in 2017. She was apprehended while trying to flee the country and sentenced to death in 2018. Currently, Priya’s mother is in Yemen, trying to waive her death penalty by paying ‘blood money’ to the murdered man’s family.” 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.”
- “[S]weeping sanctions [against Iran] inadvertently penalized Shia Muslims who pay a religious obligation known as khums, which is similar to Christian tithing and funds charitable works worldwide. At the time, Zaidi was gathering khums donations from Shia Muslims in Texas, including money from Hemani’s mother, Sameena.”
- “The first civil divorce case at Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court between a Muslim and non-Muslim has taken place. . . .The court’s decision underscores its authority to handle personal status matters involving expatriates, even when both parties are Muslims, provided their home countries do not primarily apply Islamic law to such issues.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Calendar:
- Call for Submissions: Pedagogy Files in Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā, September 1, 2024.
- Call for Proposals: Hot Topics Program, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, October 14, 2024.
- Conference: Law, colonialism and gender in the Muslim world, December 19-20, 2024.
- Conference: MESA 2025, Westin Downtown, Washington DC, November 22-25, 2025.
- 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.