SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In "Liberalism Versus Liberalism: An Analysis of Muslim-American Amicus Curiae Arguments Concerning Complicity-Based Conscience Claims" (Journal of Law and Religion 38, no. 2 (2023) (forthcoming)), Kamran Bajwa (Chicago Law School) and Samuel E. Miller (University of Iowa - College of Law; University of Chicago), reviewing amicus curiae briefs filed in … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In "Can the Taliban Be Convinced to Reverse Course?" (Human Rights Watch, February 12, 2023), John Sifton and Fereshta Abbasi (HRW), commenting on the Taliban's policies regarding women, argue that "[n]o country can function with half its adult population locked up at home." In "Project Illumine — a Qur’an commentary … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS According to data from India's Darul Qaza, or Islamic arbitration center, more divorces have been sought through khula, whereby the woman petitions a judge for divorce and surrenders hew dowry, rather than through triple talaq, whereby the husband unilaterally divorces his wife. "Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (Markazudawa), [an Islamic organization operating … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS In response to the Supreme Court's overruling of Roe v. Wade, some Muslim American lawyers have argued that restrictive abortion laws infringe on Muslims' religious liberty, as many of the restrictive abortion laws in several states contravene Islam's understanding of abortion and its permissibility in certain contexts. Relatedly, some Muslims … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to cut interest rates, arguing that the cut is also in line with Islamic law. In a recent interview, one of the few female judges in Palestine, Kholoud al-Faqeeh, commenting on religious courts and women, stated: "A woman’s whole life cycle is before these … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law: In "Navigating Colonial Law in a 'Sea of Islands'" (Law & Social Inquiry Online (December 3, 2021)), Renisa Mawani (University of British Columbia) reviews Nurfadzilah Yahaya's Fluid Jurisdictions: Colonial Laws and Arabs in Southeast Asia (Cornell University Press, 2020). In "Rumi without Islam: the cultural appropriation of Rumi" (Bayt Al … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
A few weeks ago, Germany's Interior Ministry apologized after serving pork at a conference on Islam in Berlin. Most of the attendees at the conference were apparently Muslim, and under Islamic law, pork is not considered permissible (ḥalāl) to eat. Like other aspects of Islamic law, there are some differences among Islamic legal scholars (and … Continue reading In the News: Ḥalāl Food
By Gamal Gasim, PhD (Grand Valley State University) After only one week in the White House oval office, President Trump signed Executive Order 13769 (EO-1) ordering a temporary ban on entries to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. The original list included Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Iran, and Somalia. The EO-1 … Continue reading Supreme Court’s Trump v. Hawaii
Plaintiff Jeffrey Coleman filed an action against the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) alleging violations of his constitutional rights under the First Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and RLUIPA. The Plaintiff claimed that these rights had been violated in over 12 policies, including the policy that limited his purchase of prayer oil to … Continue reading Islamic Law in U.S. Courts: Coleman v. Jabe (W.D.Va. 2012): Religious Accommodation for Grooming in Prison
To fund construction for a new building without violating Islamic law's prohibition against interest, the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN) entered into an ijāra agreement with Devon Bank; the bank created a subsidiary for the purpose of the ijāra agreement. Under the agreement, Devon Bank had legal ownership of the building's title until ICN could fully purchase the building. … Continue reading Islamic Center of Nashville v. State of Tennessee (6th Cir. 2017): Ijāra Financing Cancels Real Estate Tax Exemption for Financed Property
