Weekend Scholarship Roundup

SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP

On Islamic Law

• In “Dark Deeds, Broken Bodies: Medieval Islamic Narratives of Violence against Corpses” (Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists 32), Taryn Marashi (Augsburg University) “addresses the narrative power of corpse violence in Greater Iraq during the mid-third/ninth and early fourth/tenth centuries, investigating the political meanings inscribed on bodies unmade by others.”
• In “The Controversy over the Law Schools (lā madhhabiyya) in Twentieth-Century Syria” (Islamic Law & Society, October 2024) Itzchak Weismann (University of Haifa) explores the debates surrounding lā madhhabiyya, or “non-sectarianism,” in Syria’s Islamic legal discourse during the 20th century. It examines how this approach sought to transcend traditional madhhab (school of thought) divisions, aiming to unify Islamic legal practice while provoking considerable opposition from those favoring adherence to established legal schools.

On Islam and Data Science

• In “Religious Approaches to Constitutionalism: Empirical Scholarship and Exceptionalism” (Arab Law Quarterly, November 13, 2023), Russell Powell (School of Law, Seattle University) “considers empirical data related to constitutional references to specific religions as a framework for a discussion of the comparative constitutional histories of Turkey and the Republic of Ireland.”
• In “Legal Protection for Child Victims of Sexual Abuse in Palopo City: Islamic Criminal Law Perspective” (Al-Bayyinah 8, no. 2 (2024)), Hastuti Rahimuddin (Institut Agama Islam Negeri Palop, Indonesia) and others “explore legal protection for child victims of sexual violence in the city of Palopo from the perspective of Islamic criminal law. The research method used was qualitative with interview and observation data collection techniques.”

FIELD GUIDE TO ISLAMIC LAW ONLINE: RECENT SOURCES

The Field Guide to Islamic Law Online is an ever-growing collection of links to hundreds of links to primary sources and archival collections around the world, online.We recently added new resources to this list:

• Rastakhiz was a nationalist publication created by Iranian expatriates during World War I, particularly associated with the pro-German Iranian Nationalists Committee in Berlin. It aimed to resist Anglo-Russian influence in Iran and played a significant role in promoting Iranian nationalism.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

PIL & Harvard Calendar:

• Seminar: “Travel Writing and the Production of a Global Imagination in Muslim South Asia” by Daniel Majchrowicz, Harvard University, November 6, 2024.
• Workshop: Library Resources for Scholars of Islamic Studies, Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, November 8, 2024.
• Islamic Law Speaker Series: “Islamic Apocalyptic Jurisprudence: End-Times Law in Sunnī and Shīʿī Discourses” by Ali Rod Khadem, Program in Islamic Law, November 12, 2024.
• Islamic Law Speaker Series: “On Theocratic Criminal Law: The Rule of Religion and Punishment in Iran,” Bahman Khodadadi, Program in Islamic Law, December 10, 2024.
• Call for Submissions: Journal of Islamic Law Special Issue, January 13, 2025.
• Islamic Law Speaker Series: “The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa (Princeton University Press, 2024),” Malika Zeghal, Program in Islamic Law, February 11, 2025.
• Islamic Law Speaker Series: “The Genealogy of the Death Penalty for Apostasy and Blasphemy in Islam” by Mohsen Kadivar, Program in Islamic Law, March 11, 2025.
• Islamic Law Speaker Series: “A Cultural History of the Arabic Book: Digital Explorations of Writerly Practices and Text Reuse” by Sarah Savant, Program in Islamic Law, April 8, 2025.

Calendar:

• Scholarship: Rare Book School Scholarships, November 1, 2024.
• Fellowship: The Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography Junior Fellows Program, Rare Book School, November 1, 2024.
• EUME Berliner Seminar: “Conflicting Legacies of the 1858 Ottoman Land Law: A View from Palestine” by Munir Fakher Eldin, November 6, 2024.
• Workshop: “Sites of Encounter in the Muslim World: Cairo & Delhi,” UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, November 7, 2024.
• Symposium: Recent Developments in Family Law in the MENA Region, Dutch Association for the Study of Islamic Law and Law of the Middle East, November 7, 2024.
• Panel: “The Legacies of Anti-colonial Struggle in Algeria: A Panel Honoring the Life and Activism of Elaine Mokhtefi,” UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, November 8, 2024.
• Conference: “Perspectives on the Development of Islamic Law: Philosophy of Law & Islamic Medical Ethics,” Humbold University, Berlin, November 8-9, 2024.
• Conference: 2024 CILIS Islamic Studies Postgraduate Conference, Melbourne Law School, November 12, 2024.
• Position opening: University assistant predoctoral researcher, University of Vienna, November 14, 2024.
• Lecture: Fall 2024 Lester Lecture: “Polyvalence, Ambiguity and the Politics of Islamic Studies” with Dr. Marion Katz, University of Colorado Boulder, November 14, 2024.
• Position opening: Associate/Full Professor – Islamic/Middle Eastern Studies, UMass Amherst, November 15, 2024.
• EUME Berliner Seminar: “Law, Litigation, and Politics of Legitimization: On the Possibilities and Limits of Palestinian Legal Action in Israel” by Suhad Bishara, November 20, 2024.
• Book Roundtable: “Order and Disorder in the Ottoman Empire,” UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, November 22, 2024.
• Fellowship: Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization, 2025-2026, Yale Law School (Deadline: November 30, 2024).
• Conference: 12th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, December 2-4, 2024.
• Fellowship: M. C. Lang Fellowship in Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching with Historical Sources, Rare Book School, 2025-2026, December 9, 2024.
• Conference: Law, colonialism and gender in the Muslim world, December 19-20, 2024.
• EUME Berliner Seminar: “The Politics of Choice: The 2003 Entry Law to Israel, the Phenomenology of Singlehood and Love Across Borders Among Palestinians” by Towibah Majdub, January 22, 2025.
• Fellowship: The University Center for Human Values in Law and Normative Thinking 2025-26, Princeton University, January 22, 2025.
• Call for Editors: Law & Society Review, 2025-2026, February 1, 2025.
• Call for Editors: Book Review Editor for Law & Society Review, 2025-2026, February 1, 2025.
• Workshop: Annual Comparative Law Work-in-Progress Workshop, May 1-3, 2025 (Call for Papers deadline: February 5, 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: Law, Culture, and Humanities 27th Annual Conference, Georgetown University, June 17-18, 2025 (Call for Papers deadline: January 31, 2025).
• Conference: MESA 2025, Westin Downtown, Washington DC, November 22-25, 2025.
• Position opening: Senior Lecturer in Law, History, and Society, Vanderbilt University, 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.