ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS
- “A Taliban government spokesman has said the Afghan authorities are committed to engagement with the international community after a new morality law sparked tense exchanges over women’s rights.” 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.”
- A set of proposed amendments introduced by the Iraqi government “would allow Iraqis to turn to religious courts on issues of family law, including marriage, which currently are the sole domain of civil courts. That would let clerics rule according to their interpretation of Shariah, or Islamic law, as opposed to national laws. Some clerics interpret Shariah to allow marriage of girls in their early teens — or as young as 9 under the Jaafari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq.”
- “The Iraqi parliament postponed a controversial bill on Tuesday to amend the country’s Personal Status Law after civil society groups urged lawmakers to withdraw and break the quorum.”
CASES AND FATWĀS
- “Prosecutors called on the International Criminal Court Wednesday to sentence the former head of the Islamic police force in Timbuktu to 22 years in prison, while his lawyers said their client should receive time served.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
PIL & Harvard Calendar:
- Research Assistant: Islamic Law and Criminal Law, Harvard Law School, September 9, 2024.
- SHARIAsource Lab Research Opportunities, September 9, 2024.
- Writing Group: Islamic Law and History (1 or 2 Credits) – Fall Term, September 9, 2024.
- Seminar: “Nahj al-Balaghah, The Wisdom and Eloquence of Ali: Ethics, Aesthetics, Faith, and Politics in Early Islam” by Tahera Qutbuddin, Harvard University, September 11, 2024.
- Seminar: “Islam and Citizenship in Indonesia: Nahdlatul Ulama and the Quest for an Inclusive Public Ethics” by Robert Hefner, Harvard University, October 7, 2024.
- Seminar: “Travel Writing and the Production of a Global Imagination in Muslim South Asia” by Daniel Majchrowicz, Harvard University, November 6, 2024.
Calendar:
- Call for Papers: “Islamic Law and Social Movements,” 2025 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), September 9, 2024.
- Call for Proposals: Hot Topics Program, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, October 14, 2024.
- Conference: 2024 American Society of Comparative Law Annual Meeting, Texas A&M University School of Law, October 17-19, 2024 (Call for Submissions: October 15, 2024).
- Fellowship: Thomas C. Grey Fellowship, Stanford Law School, 2025-2026, October 15, 2024.
- Talk: “Unsettlements: History of Land Reclamation in British Mandate of Palestine” with Nurfadzilah Yahaya, Stanford University, October 28, 2024.
- Conference: Law, colonialism and gender in the Muslim world, December 19-20, 2024.
- Conference: Eleventh Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies, Queen Mary University, UK, May 8-10, 2025 (Paper proposals: October 31, 2024; Panel proposals: November 30, 2024).
- Conference: Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, May 22-25, 2025 (Registration: January 3, 2025).
- 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.