SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law Systemic Islamophobia in Canada: A Research Agenda (University of Toronto Press, 2023), edited by Anver M. Emon (University of Toronto Faculty of Law), "presents critical perspectives on systemic Islamophobia in Canadian politics, law, and society, and maps areas for future research and inquiry. The authors consist of both scholars and … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In Peace and Reconciliation in International Islamic Law (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023), Kaleem Hussain (University of Birmingham) "presents a lucid analysis, observing how the sources of international law and Islamic Law help or hinder the pathway towards peace and reconciliation in selected conflict theatres: namely, Afghanistan, Palestine-Israel and Kashmir." In "Politics … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In In the Shadow of the Prophet: Essays in Islamic History (Oneworld Publications, 2023), Roy P. Mottahedeh (Harvard University, Emeritus) "xplores such diverse topics as the social bonds that connected people in the early Islamic Middle East, the transmission of learning in the Muslim world, religious and ethnic toleration 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
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law: In "U.S. Tax Law and Sharia-Compliant Financing Structures" (SSRN, August 13, 2022), Ahmed Altawyan (Saudi Electronic University) "overviews the tax rules for Islamic finance to help lawmakers and policymakers in the United States and other countries develop laws or guidance on sharia-compliant financial activities and transactions. On Islam and Data … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
By Sohail Hanif We continue our reflection on social dimensions of Islamic law by turning our attention to the rules of Zakat,[1] the obligatory alms in Islam. Zakat is a social institution, as it represents wealth moving from the ‘rich’ to the ‘poor’. By its very nature, Zakat creates social ties and dependencies. From the … Continue reading When Worship Meets Taxation: Socio-Political Reflections on the Rules of Zakat
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS The East Java branch of Indonesia's largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama, recently announced its fatwā that forbid the use of cryptocurrency as ḥarām under Islamic law. A wedding in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province turned deadly as the Taliban reportedly shot three attendees over an argument on whether playing music was forbidden … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
By Mehdi Berriah This is part four in a series of four posts on the financing of jihād during the Mamlūk period. As noted by Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-Hanafī al-Ṭarsūsī, the possibility of resorting to the imposition of new taxes or the requisition, on the order of the sultan, of goods to finance a war effort … Continue reading A Lack of Resources in the bayt al-māl: A Sine Qua Non Condition for the Imposition of a Tax?
By Mehdi Berriah This is part three in a series of four posts on the financing of jihād during the Mamlūk period. In the cases presented in the sources discussed in the previous post, sultans and amīrs met, in general, with firm opposition on the part of several ʿulamāʾ to the imposition of additional taxes on … Continue reading The Sharīʿa on the Financing of Jihād
By Mehdi Berriah This is part two in a series of four posts on the financing of jihād during the Mamlūk period. First Episode The first episode took place in dhū-l-qaʿda 657/November 1259, after Quṭuz dismissed al-Manṣūr ʿAlī, the son of his former master, the first Mamlūk sultan al-Muʿizz Aybak (d. 655/1257), and proclaimed himself sultan. The … Continue reading Episodes in which the ʿUlamāʾ, according to Islamic Law, were Opposed to the Tax
