Islamic Law in the News Roundup

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ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS

  • “Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton were spreading ‘hateful misinformation’ regarding proposals for a new Islamic themed settlement in the state, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the United States, told Newsweek.”
  • In the UK, sharīʿa councils “which rule on Muslim marriages have been accused of misogyny and exploiting religious freedoms — and they are on the rise on the capital [London].”
  • “Taliban have removed at least 16 university lecturers from Islamic studies faculties in five provinces, reportedly over disagreements with the group’s ideological views, according to local sources.”
  • “Afghanistan‘s Supreme Court rejected on Saturday condemnation by the United Nations of the Taliban’s use of capital punishment, a day after four convicted murderers were publicly executed.”
  • “It’s the first time in more than a month that Taliban authorities have publicly commented on the case of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who were arrested in early February after being taken from their home in central Bamiyan province to the capital, Kabul. . . . ‘The only thing I can say is that the matter was previously with the Interior Ministry and it has now been handed over to the courts,’ [a spokespoerson] said. ‘Their problem (crime) is not that big. God willing, their problem will soon be resolved and a shariah (Islamic law) decision will be made. It is a small matter and should not be a cause for concern.'”
  • “Four men were publicly executed in Afghanistan . . . the Supreme Court said, the highest number of executions to be carried out in one day since the Taliban’s return to power.” “According to an official order issued by the Taliban, the executions were carried out as ‘Qisas,’ a form of retribution sanctioned under Islamic law, for two separate cases of intentional murder.” 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.” For more content and context on harsh interpretations and applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb’s “Resource Roundup: Islamic Criminal Law.” For more news blurbs relating to harsh applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our “Islamic Criminal Law in the News Roundup.”

CASES AND FATWĀS

  • “Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has filed a petition in the Supreme Court [of India] challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The petition–Mohammad Salim and Others vs Union of India –has been filed by Jamaat Vice-President Professor Salim Engineer, Maulana Shafi Madni, Inam ur Rehman and other senior officials. It raises serious concerns about the new law, stating that the amendments infringe upon fundamental rights and dismantle the religious, charitable, and community-oriented nature of waqfs in India. The petition invokes Articles 14, 15, 16, 25, and 26 of the Constitution and seeks to declare the amendments unconstitutional, citing violations of Article 300A.” “The 2025 act [has introduced] key changes: mandatory registration of waqf properties, inclusion of non-Muslim members in waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, and provisions to ensure women’s representation in waqf administration.” “Joining the community members across the country, the Muslim Council Dimapur (MCD) has also expressed strong opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025.” “After the Bill received presidential assent, a record number of over 65 petitions from politicians, civil organisations and advocates were filed at the Supreme Court challenging the Act. The petitioners include Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan, The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights; Arshad Madani of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind; Congress leaders Imran Masood and Udit Raj; Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD; Mahua Moitra of the TMC; the Indian Union Muslim League; the Communist Party of India; Mohammad Salim of the CPI (Marxist); Shia cleric Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi; and Anjuman-E-Islam. “

UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

PIL & Harvard Calendar:

  • 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:

  • 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.

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