ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS
- Malaysia‘s Minister for Religious Affairs stated that the determination of the lineage (nasab) of some children rescued from charity homes was the responsibility of sharī’a courts.
- Egypt‘s president Al-Sisi recently called for emulating Prophet Muhammad’s manners at birth anniversary celebration.
- “The body charged with outlining and ensuring sharia standards in Islamic finance [The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions] is considering drastic changes to the way sukuk finance is structured, which if implemented have the potential to upend either the market or see the body itself drift into irrelevance.”
- “Iraq‘s parliament took a step closer to enacting significant changes to the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 during a session on Monday that featured intense discussions about amendments that would permit citizens to marry based on their religious sects.” “These amendments would limit and restrict the judicial authority and would strengthen the [religious] jurist,” legislator Noor Al Jilaihawi told The National. “In general, we have many concerns about them.”
- “Strict Islamic rules on disposal of the sacred text [have been] colliding with state environmental laws, leaving Muslim leaders looking for a good solution.”
- “Kuwait has officially joined the Union of Tax Authorities in Islamic Countries, as confirmed by the issuance of Decree Law No. 99 of 2024.”
CASES AND FATWĀS
- “The Perlis State Fatwa Committee [of Malaysia] has officially declared the beliefs and teachings of Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holdings (GISBH) as deviant, making Perlis the first state to take such a stance against the organisation.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
PIL & Harvard Calendar:
- Book Talk: “Islam in North America: An Introduction” by Hussein Rashid and Huma Mohibullah, Harvard University, September 23, 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.
- Memorial Service: In Memoriam: Professor Roy Parviz Mottahedeh, October 25, 2024.
- Conference: Islamic Finance Conference (IFC), Harvard University, October 25-26, 2024.
- Seminar: “Travel Writing and the Production of a Global Imagination in Muslim South Asia” by Daniel Majchrowicz, Harvard University, November 6, 2024.
- Call for Submissions: Journal of Islamic Law Special Issue, January 13, 2025.
Calendar:
- 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.