Dekan Lā Ripōrṫ: Familiar genres, unfamiliar stories

By Elizabeth Lhost For my final essay this month, I’ve selected the Deccan Law Reports for analysis. Law reports are a familiar genre for many legal historians, and the Deccan … Continue reading Dekan Lā Ripōrṫ: Familiar genres, unfamiliar stories

Islamic Law in the News Roundup

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Redha Rajab, his son Mohamed Rajab, and researcher Jalal al-Qassab, members of the progressive Al-Tajdeed Society in Bahrain, are "accused of violating articles 309 and … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup

Naql-i Rejisṫarḋ khaṭ: Letters, postcards, and telegrams as sources of law

By Elizabeth Lhost In March 1950, Muḥyī-ud-dīn Ṣāḥib sent a request to the dār al-iftāʾ (office for issuing fatwās, judicial opinions) of the Ṣadārat al-ʿĀliya (ecclesiastical department) of the princely … Continue reading Naql-i Rejisṫarḋ khaṭ: Letters, postcards, and telegrams as sources of law

Farāmīn-i Niẓāmat: Looking at legal layers in a royal decree

By Elizabeth Lhost The first farmān (order) (pictured below) in a volume titled Farāmīn-i Niẓāmat-i dār al-qażāʿ-yi balada, min ibtidāʿ–yi sana-yi 1339 H li-ghāyata-yi sana-yi 1350 H, daftar-i Senṫral Rikārḋ, … Continue reading Farāmīn-i Niẓāmat: Looking at legal layers in a royal decree

Islamic Law in the News Roundup

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS "With Ramadan beginning on March 22, Muslim students have expressed concern over the accessibility and variety of Halal food, as well as a lack of … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup

Raftār-i Taraqqī-yi ʿAdālat: Rethinking “progress” in the history of Hyderabad’s Āṣafī Courts

By Elizabeth Lhost Like a good social scientist, I begin with a diagram. Mir Basit Ali Khan’s Urdu-language Tārīkh-i ʿAdālat-i Āṣafī (History of the Asafi Courts) (1937) opens with a … Continue reading Raftār-i Taraqqī-yi ʿAdālat: Rethinking “progress” in the history of Hyderabad’s Āṣafī Courts

Breaking out of “Anglo-Muslim” hybrids, or the case for studying the princely states

By Elizabeth Lhost Sources matter, especially for the study of history. They determine the stories we tell, the perspectives we portray, the experiences we recover. Yet when it comes to … Continue reading Breaking out of “Anglo-Muslim” hybrids, or the case for studying the princely states

Islamic Law in the News Roundup

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Singapore, invoking the Internal Security Act, detained two people it considered to have "self-radicalized" by listening to speeches and statements made by Ismail Menk, "a … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup

Weekend Scholarship Roundup

SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law Haider Ala Hamoudi has been appointed interim dean of University of Pittsburgh Law School. In "Hijab Ban Controversy in India’s Karnataka State – Analysis" (Eurasia … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup

Islamic Law in the News Roundup

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS "A local court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat [in India], dismissed a lawsuit filed by three Hindu girls seeking their deceased mother’s retirement benefits[,]" ruling that Hindu … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup