SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP
On Islamic Law
- In Regulative Verses of the Qurʾan (Brill Academic Publishers), Karen Bauer (Institute of Ismaili Studies), Seyed Mohammad Ghari S. Fatemi (AMI and Mofid University), Robert Gleave (University of Exeter), and Devin J. Stewart (Emory University) illustrate how “regulative verses of the Qurʾan offers a comprehensive study of how Islamic law emerged from scriptural interpretation, by exploring the nature of law in the Qurʾan itself and in Islamic thought, including in the foundational yet often overlooked genre of aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Through detailed analysis of classical and contemporary texts, the volume reveals how jurists across Sunni, Shia, and Ibadi traditions have debated the meaning, scope, and application of legal verses. Drawing on rare primary sources and philosophical perspectives, this book is an essential resource, illuminating the rich interplay between divine revelation, legal reasoning, and ethical inquiry in Islam.” [login required]
- In The Forgotten Khayr al-Din al-Tunsi’s Islamic Social Contract (Edinburgh University Press), Deina Ali Abdelkader (University of Massachusetts Lowell) “challenges the entrenched marginalisation of Muslim contributions to political theory, exposing the epistemological biases that have privileged Western traditions while silencing rich intellectual legacies from the Islamic world. Centering on the 19th-century reformer Khayr al-Din al-Tunsi, it offers the first comprehensive analysis and translation of his political writings through the lens of Islamic jurisprudence—specifically, the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa (Objectives of the Law). Al-Tunsi’s thought presents a compelling synthesis of Islamic ethical-legal frameworks with selective European institutional models, articulating a vision of governance rooted in public welfare, justice and moral responsibility.”
On Islam and Data Science
- In Digital Humanities for Arabic and Islamic Studies (Brill Academic Publishers), Maxim Romanov (University of Hamburg) “demonstrates how computational tools can illuminate long-term cultural and linguistic developments across the Islamic world. Through accessible case studies on terminology tracing, genre modeling, and linguistic change, the book shows how digital methods expand rather than replace traditional scholarship.”
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 primary sources and archival collections around the world, online. We recently added new resources to this list:
- Shurish is a Farsi periodical that can be accessed online through a webpage maintained by the Digital Library of the Middle East. The online collection comprises more than 30 issues of the periodical.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Events:
- Workshop: Archival Abundances and Silences in Islamic Studies, Princeton University, October 2–3, 2026
- Conference: Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 21–24, 2026
- Conference: The Institutional Embedding of Shiʿi Imams: Kinship, Caliphs, Courts and Companions (700-900), University of Leiden, January 13–15, 2027
- Conference: Rupture or Continuity in Sharīʿa: (De)Colonizing Sharīʿa? International Conference, Centre for Islamic Studies (ISAM), Istanbul, Turkey, June 9–11, 2027
Opportunities:
- Award: Student Travel Award, Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies, September 1, 2026
- Call for Papers: Legal Research & Analysis, September 29, 2026
- Call for Papers: Trends in Intellectual Property Research, September 30, 2026