Islamic Finance Guru, a UK-based Islamic finance platform, recently raised £3 million in investments. The Saudi Crown Prince's overhaul of the country's legal system and practices traditionally thought as being mandated by sharī'a has given rise to discontent among some of the population. Ahead of the national Islamophobia summit, the National Council of Canadian Muslims … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
Family Law as Colonial Specter of Shelter
By Nurfadzilah Yahaya My book Fluid Jurisdictions: Colonial Law and Arabs in Southeast Asia (Cornell University Press, 2020) traces changing notions of family and clan across legal cultures in the realm of family law. Supposedly, Islamic law does not enter the secular sphere of politics during the colonial period. Yet, although dissipation of political power … Continue reading Family Law as Colonial Specter of Shelter
What does Equality Mean in the Colonies?
By Nurfadzilah Yahaya Two phenomena struck me as particularly incongruous while researching for my book Fluid Jurisdictions: Colonial Law and Arabs in Southeast and plagued me throughout the process of writing it. The first was “illegal occupations” (‘onwettige occupaties’) which referred to land occupied by populations who were not allowed to own the land according … Continue reading What does Equality Mean in the Colonies?
Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Genre as a Tool for Understanding Islamic Law” by Prof. Ahmed al-Shamsy
By Omar Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar This is a summary of the lecture by Prof. Ahmed El Shamsy entitled “What Kind of Gloss is a Ḥashiya?,” delivered on April 28, 2021 at 12 noon (EST), 6 pm (Münster) 7 pm (Istanbul) via Zoom. Professor El Shamsy’s lecture described the history, impact, and receptions of legal ḥāshiya literature, … Continue reading Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Genre as a Tool for Understanding Islamic Law” by Prof. Ahmed al-Shamsy
Ṭalāq in the Colonies – Constraints on Colonial Judiciary
By Nurfadzilah Yahaya In my book, Fluid Jurisdictions: Colonial Law and Arabs in Southeast Asia (Cornell University Press, 2020), I demonstrate how colonialism embodies a contradiction; in a sense, colonial authorities limited and restricted subjects’ lives, but their authority gave rise to a sense of possibility for some colonial subjects perceived to be elite.[1] The largest … Continue reading Ṭalāq in the Colonies – Constraints on Colonial Judiciary
Weekend Scholarship Roundup
The new issue of the Journal of Islamic Law at Harvard Law School (Journal of Islamic Law 2, no. 1 (2021)) has been published online. The new issue includes an article by Sohaira Siddiqui (Georgetown University) entitled "Triple Divorce and the Political Context of Islamic Law in India" that discusses the recent enactment of an … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
Islamic Law of Paternity and DNA Evidence
By Ayman Shabana In the Islamic tradition, Islamic rules governing paternity are closely tied to a number of important legal concepts and procedures. Most importantly, paternity regulations have strong connections with marriage and the definition of a licit sexual relationship, mainly in light of the well-known Prophetic report which has established that link “the child … Continue reading Islamic Law of Paternity and DNA Evidence
Islamic Law, (Bio)ethics, and Ethical Gatekeeping of Science
By Ayman Shabana One of the important reasons why the use of the term “Islamic law” as the English counterpart for sharīʿa is problematic has to do with the conceptualization of the relationship between law and ethics in Islam. In the modern period, the term “law” is often understood as positive, secular, or man-made law, … Continue reading Islamic Law, (Bio)ethics, and Ethical Gatekeeping of Science
Weekend Scholarship Roundup
In "On Sacred Land" (Minnesota Law Review, vol. 105 (2021)), Khaled A. Beydoun (Wayne State University Law School) discusses America's "Anti-Sharia Movement" within the context of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person's Act, highlighting the resistance local governments exhibit against the creation of mosques and other Islamic community centers across the country. In "Women … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
Islamic Law in the News Roundup
As talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban continue, the US peace envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalizad's proposal circulated to both parties includes "a High Council for Islamic Jurisprudence," to advise ordinary courts as to matters involving the interpretation of Islamic law. Austrian Muslims have planned to sue the Austrian government under the leadership … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup