SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law: In "The Hoax in the ISIS Flag" (Newlinesmag.org, October 28, 2021), Ahmed El Shamsy (Chicago University) explains how a forged letter, presented by a French diplomat in the middle of the 19th century as the genuine writing of the Prophet, ended up finding its way on the ISIS flag - … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS After retiring from the NBA, Hakeem Olajuwon launched a successful career in real estate, all the while avoiding borrowing money for his acquisitions that would result in paying or charging interest, which contradicts his faith. Al Barakeh Wheat - a project founded by two Jordanians - teaches people how to … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
Islamic Law in the News: Nailah Dean, writer and activist, has introduced her "ISMS Project," comprising a series of images to demonstrate what she terms the "Muslim Marriage Crisis" in an age of "digital, hyper-visual time" that represent sexism, ageism, racism, and colorism. The project represents, in addition to these four "-isms," the Muslim woman's … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
The United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Taliban's subsequent takeover of the country has brought, once again, Islam and Islamic law to the fore in recent news coverage, reports, and analyses. This renewed attention to Islamic law is in part due to the fact that the Taliban identifies itself as a Muslim military organization … Continue reading Resource Roundup: Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Islamic Law
The NYT reports on a radical figure in Afghanistan who uses what mainstream scholars of Islamic law around him call novel and excessively harsh interpretations of Islamic criminal law or “sharī'a” to dole out punishments and gain support from locals who incorrectly think these harsh interpretations have religious or historical precedent. This same figure also … Continue reading New debates about the use and abuse of Islamic criminal law in Afghanistan
By Abtsam Saleh This post is part of the Digital Islamic Law Lab (DILL) series, in which a Harvard student analyzes a primary source of Islamic law, previously workshopped in the DIL Lab. On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court of India declared the final judgement in the case regarding disputed land in the Ayodhya region in … Continue reading Shifting Religious Landscapes: From Istanbul to Ayodhya
Professor Mohammad Fadel, senior editor at SHARIAsource, explores Muslim perspectives on religious freedom pertaining to the Supreme Court's recent Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) decision on equal protection in "Professor Mohammad Fadel on Muslims, Islam, and Bostock". In this article, Fadel addresses disputes regarding the stances of some Muslims toward the rights of LGBTQ persons, … Continue reading Professor Mohammad Fadel on Muslims, Islam, and Bostock
This week’s issue of the Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal includes: "The Limits of Liberal Inclusivity: How Defining Islamophobia Normalises Anti-Muslim Racism" by Rebecca Ruth Gould This paper (forthcoming in the Journal of Law and Religion) responds to recent calls made within the UK Parliament for a government-backed definition of Islamophobia. … Continue reading Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal: June 14th
A ban on face coverings in Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday attacks has once again highlighted the issue of restrictions on religious freedoms in response to public safety concerns. According to the ban: No person shall wear in any public place any garment, clothing or such other material concealing the full face which will … Continue reading In the News: Sri Lanka’s Emergency Law
Asifa Quraishi-Landes, who teaches both Islamic law and U.S. constitutional law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was recently interviewed by Wisconsin Public Television on how the media can play a role in correcting misperceptions of Islamic law (the interview can be watched here). Meanwhile, Anver Emon, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies at the … Continue reading Islamic Law Scholars’ Round-Up: May 13th
