By Nada Moumtaz In the numerous small foundations that form the bulk of waqfs in Beirut in the nineteenth century, waqf, I suggested in my previous post, was the material foundation and an important means to live as a good Muslim — to get close to God, to care for one’s family as charity. Besides … Continue reading Waqf and the Modern State, Capitalism, and the Private Property Regime
The Kerala High Court (India) recently overturned a decades-long precedent that had prohibited Muslim women from divorcing their husbands without judicial intervention. In its new decision, the Court noted that judicial intervention was warranted only in faskh cases that involved the intervention of an Islamic judge, thereby recognizing the right of Muslim women to dissolve … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
By Nada Moumtaz In my book, God’s Property: Islam, Charity, and the Modern State, I seek to explain the contours of the contemporary waqf revival in Beirut against a longue durée of waqf reform since the mid-nineteenth century, starting with the Ottoman foundation of a Waqf Ministry in 1826 through French Mandatory (1920-1943) and postcolonial … Continue reading Late Ottoman Beiruti Waqfs: Closeness to God (Qurba) and Charity for the Family
By Nada Moumtaz Waqf (Islamic endowment), and its study, cannot leave a scholar of Islam unmoved, it would seem. For those not working on waqf, its complex legal technicalities instigate dread and “boredom of the heart.” Its accounting documents and the economic history they tell evoke the dryness of “counting beans,” as a colleague once … Continue reading Calling All Waqf Haters
A California Court of Appeals refused to apply Iranian law in a case involving a plaintiff whose work in Iran exposed him to high levels of asbestos, reasoning that Iranian law reflects religious ideology instead of economic interest. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board issued a statement urging Muslims in India to adhere to Islamic … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
By Omar Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar This is a summary of the lecture by Prof. Mohammad Fadel entitled "Form, Function and Historical Development of Mukthasars in Post-Mamluk Islamic Law," delivered on February 24, 2021 at 11am (EST), 5pm (Münster) 7pm (Istanbul) via Zoom. Professor Fadel’s lecture described the history, purpose, and nature of late medieval Mālikī mukhtaṣars. … Continue reading Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Genre as a Tool for Understanding Islamic Law” by Prof. Mohammad Fadel
By Intisar Rabb This essay is part of the Islamic Law Blog’s Roundtable on Islamic Legal History & Historiography, edited by Intisar Rabb (Editor-in-Chief) and Mariam Sheibani (Lead Blog Editor), and introduced with a list of further readings in a short post, also by Intisar Rabb: “Methods and Meaning in Islamic Law: Introduction." Introduction* We’ve all … Continue reading Islamic Legal Canons as Memes
By Petra Sijpesteijn (Leiden University) This essay is part of the Islamic Law Blog’s Roundtable on Islamic Legal History & Historiography, edited by Intisar Rabb (Editor-in-Chief) and Mariam Sheibani (Lead Blog Editor), and introduced with a list of further readings in the short post by Intisar Rabb: “Methods and Meaning in Islamic Law: Introduction." Two … Continue reading The continuum approach: Multiple legal solutions to run a diverse empire
By Haider A. Hamoudi (University of Pittsburgh) This essay is part of the Islamic Law Blog’s Roundtable on Islamic Legal History & Historiography, edited by Intisar Rabb (Editor-in-Chief) and Mariam Sheibani (Lead Blog Editor), and introduced with a list of further readings in the short post by Intisar Rabb: “Methods and Meaning in Islamic Law: … Continue reading Islamic Law from the Internal Point of View
By Marina Rustow (Princeton University) This essay is part of the Islamic Law Blog’s Roundtable on Islamic Legal History & Historiography, edited by Intisar Rabb (Editor-in-Chief) and Mariam Sheibani (Lead Blog Editor), and introduced with a list of further readings in the short post by Intisar Rabb: “Methods and Meaning in Islamic Law: Introduction." Although … Continue reading Islamic law and the documentary record before 1500: Unsolved problems and untried solutions
