ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS
- In Syria, “[t]he new government’s plan for a swift constitution overhaul, potentially prioritizing Islam, [has sparked] unrest in a country with 30% religious and ethnic minorities.”
- “Islamic Scholars and other stakeholders have urged clerics who many claim to be Muftis to deepen their knowledge about Sharia before stating their position on any Islamic matters, especially in today’s age of technology many misleading preaches and messages have found their way to social media leading to conflict.”
- “Human rights advocates denounce[d] Iran’s treatment clinics for women who defy hijab law.”
- “Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged Muslim leaders . . . not to ‘legitimise’ the Afghan Taliban government and to ‘show true leadership’ over their assault on 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.”
- Mohammad Al-Issa, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League and President of the International Islamic Scholars Organization recently said: “Denying women and girls access to education, whether partially or fully, and associating such denial with Islamic law, is categorically incorrect.”
CASES AND FATWĀS
- “A woman [in India] has filed a case against her husband and in-laws for harassment related to dowry demands and for divorcing her through triple talaq during a video call.” “The victim claimed that following a domestic dispute, her husband confiscated her jewelry and sent her back to India, cutting off communication. Subsequently, she received a divorce through triple talaq during a video call.”
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government issued a “federal decree-law on the new personal status law, which focuses on family stability and rights.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
PIL & Harvard Calendar:
- 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:
- 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 24, 2025.
- BRAIS Prize 2025: Call for Submissions, January 24, 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.
- Call for Abstracts: Middle East Medievalists, November 22-25 (Deadline: February 5, 2025).
- Lecture: “Law, Ethics, and the History of the Islamic Marriage Contract” with Marion Holmes Katz, University of California Irvine, February 13, 2025.
- Writing Workshop: The American Institute for Maghrib Studies Graduate Student Writing Workshop, February 27-28, 2025 (Application deadline: January 3, 2025).
- Conference: The 2025 Annual Conference of the Humanities and Social Sciences at LUMS, Lahore, April 18-20, 2025.
- Workshop: Annual Comparative Law Work-in-Progress Workshop, May 1-3, 2025 (Call for Papers deadline: February 5, 2024).
- Call for Papers: “ Islamic and Jewish Law in the Modern Economy,” University of Villanova School of Law, Villanova, Pennsylvania, May 5-6, 2025 (Abstract submission deadline: January 31, 2025).
- 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).
- LSA 2025 Annual Meeting: Chicago, Illinois from May 22-25, 2025 (Early registration: December 3, 2024; registration: January 3, 2025).
- 2025 Hurst Summer Institute: Legal History, University of Wisconsin Law School, June 15-27, 2025.
- Conference: Law, Culture, and Humanities 27th Annual Conference, Georgetown University, June 17-18, 2025 (Call for Papers deadline: January 31, 2025).
- Conference: The Middle Ages in the Modern World, London Strand Campus, King’s College London, June 24-26, 2025 (Call for Papers deadline: January 13, 2025).
- Summer Language Intensive Program: Istanbul University Institute for Islamic Studies, July 7 – August 8, 2025.
- Conference: MESA 2025, Westin Downtown, Washington DC, November 22-25, 2025 (Proposal deadline: February 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.