ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS
- “Texas Governor Greg Abbott has instructed the developers behind EPIC City, a proposed new Islamic-themed town near Josephine that includes parts of Collin and Hunt Counties, to confirm “within seven days that they are immediately ceasing any construction of their illegal project. . . . The proposal has sparked controversy with accusations the center wants to impose Sharia, or Islamic, law.”
- In Iran, “[i]n a viral video circulating on social media last week, ultra-hardliner lawmaker Mohammad-Mannan Raisi blasted the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for its mid-September decision to halt the implementation of the proposed Hijab and Chastity Law.”
CASES AND FATWĀS
- “The Lok Sabha [India] passed the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, after a gruelling 13-hour session. The bill was cleared by a majority of votes, despite mass opposition uproar. The bill has now been sent to the Rajya Sabha for further consideration. During a 13-hour-long debate, the NDA ruling defended the legislation, whereas the opposition has termed the bill as ‘anti-Muslim’ and ‘unconstitutional.'” “Posting on X, Modi described the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as a step toward ‘socio-economic justice, transparency, and inclusive growth.'” “AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, labeling it a ‘brazen violation’ of the fundamental rights of Muslims and the Muslim community.” For more content and context on the changes introduced by the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, see here.
- In India, “[f]ederal government records indicate over 21,600 land disputes related to waqf claims are pending throughout India. According to the government’s Press Information Bureau, this includes 5,977 government properties identified as Waqf properties. The amended law removes Waqf boards’ power to make unilateral claims without proof and allows Indian courts and administrative systems to be involved and settle disputes.”
- Muslim scholars have issued a “Fatwa of the Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee of the International Union of Muslim Scholars regarding the “continuation of the aggression on Gaza and the cessation of the truce.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
PIL & Harvard Calendar:
- Middle East Beyond Borders Graduate Student Workshop: Latifeh Aavani (Harvard University), “The Global Codification Movement and the Development of Legal Reforms in 19th-Century Iran,” April 14, 2025.
- Call for Managing Editor: Program in Islamic Law, 2025-2026, April 30, 2025.
- Workshop: Parchment, Paper, Inks, and Gold, The Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program and Harvard Art Museums, May 1, 2025.
- Workshop: Workshop on Libraries, Manuscripts, Readers and Patrons in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Islamicate World, The Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program and Houghton Library, May 5-7, 2025 (Deadline: April 6, 2025).
- Prize: Doctoral Dissertation Prize, The Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program, May 16, 2025.
- Fellowship: May-Crane Fellowships, Harvard University 2025 (deadline to be announced).
Calendar:
- Call for Submissions: Journal of Legal Research & Analysis, volume 3, issue 1, April 15, 2025.
- IISMM Seminar Series: “The Economics of Waqf: From the Imperial to the Personal,” IISMM, France (remote option), April 18, 2025.
- Conference: The 2025 Annual Conference of the Humanities and Social Sciences at LUMS, Lahore, April 18-20, 2025.
- Symposium: 12th Annual Graduate Symposium, hosted by the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies Student Council (MIISSC), Montreal, April 24, 2025 (deadline February 17, 2025).
- Lecture: Calligraphy, Meet Street Art, Ubaydallah Ahmad and Ismael Muhammad Nieves, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, April 27, 2025.
- Call for Papers: Symposium on Legal Education in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence, Royal Holloway University University of London, April 30, 2025 (deadline March 15, 2025).
- Grant: MESA Global Academy 2025 – 2026 Application, May 1, 2025.
- Prize: Middle East Medievalists (MEM) Book Prize, May 1, 2025.
- Workshop: Annual Comparative Law Work-in-Progress Workshop, May 1-3, 2025 (Call for Papers deadline: February 5, 2025).
- Call for Papers: 39th Annual Middle East History and Theory Conference (MEHAT), University of Chicago, May 2-3, 2025 (Deadline: January 31, 2025).
- 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).
- IISMM Seminar Series: “From Jerusalem to India: Endowments and Gender Influences,” IISMM, France, May 16, 2025.
- LSA 2025 Annual Meeting: Chicago, Illinois from May 22-25, 2025 (Early registration: December 3, 2024; registration: January 3, 2025).
- Call for Papers: “Towards a Global Ecological-Economic Legal Framework,” ESIL IG, Paris, June 6-7, 2025 (deadline February 28, 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).
- IISMM Seminar Series: “Waqfs, women and circles of power,” IISMM, France (remote option), June 20, 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).
- Workshop: “From Classical ML to AI in Arabic and Islamic Studies,” Hamburg University, July 1-4, 2025 (Deadline: April 30, 2025)
- Summer Language Intensive Program: Istanbul University Institute for Islamic Studies, July 7 – August 8, 2025.
- Summer School: Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim World, Leiden University, August 18-29, 2025 (Application deadline: May 5, 2025).
- Faculty Fellow: Faculty Fellow in Near Eastern Studies, New York University, 2025-2026, September 1, 2025 (Deadline: March 24, 2025).
- Call for Proposals: Paris Congress at 125: Comparative Law’s Entanglement with Power from Paris to Today, McGill University, Canada, October 16-18, 2025 (Deadline: May 14, 2025).
- Conference: 5th ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization, University of Pittsburgh, November 5-7, 2025.
- Call for Papers: ASLH 2025 Annual Meeting, Detroit, MI, November 13-15, 2025 (Deadline: March 25, 2025).
- Conference: MESA 2025, Westin Downtown, Washington DC, November 22-25, 2025 (Proposal deadline: February 13, 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.