By Matthew L. Keegan How do we imagine the law? What shapes our sense of how the legal system operates? In a culture saturated with television narratives, one clear avenue for shaping the imagined law is the various franchises and spin-offs of television shows like Law & Order and CSI, which give viewers a heavily … Continue reading Skullduggery, Literature, and the Legal Imagination
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that 'when the Taliban enacted restrictive bans on higher education for women, governments from across the Muslim world spoke up to condemn the Taliban’s decision,' and that they argued that the actions were inhumane and contrary to Islamic beliefs." For more content and … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
By Matthew L. Keegan Islamic law is one among several Islamic discourses and normative discourses that intermingled with Islamic epistemes and ecumenes in the pre-modern world. In Marion Holmes Katz's recent monograph, readers encounter a sophisticated reading of the intersecting and divergent approaches of law, asceticism, and Islamic philosophical ethics. As she demonstrates in one … Continue reading Moral Registers in Islamic Law, Adab, and Ethics
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS The United Nations has planned a meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, including the Taliban's interpretation and application of Islamic law, at a meeting in Doha where the Taliban forces will not be represented. "The UN Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously condemned a ban by the Taliban on Afghan women … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In "The Method in Understanding Hadith Through Ijmā' and Its Implications for Islamic Law in Indonesia: Studies on the Hadiths of the Month of Qamariyah" (Samarah 7, no. 1 (2023)), Abdul Majid (Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris, Samarinda) and others investigate how the meaning of certain Prophetic teaching … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
By Matthew L. Keegan When I first came across a chapter on legal riddles in the Kitāb al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓāʾir of Ibn Nujaym (d. 970/1563) in graduate school, I was immediately fascinated. I had never heard of the genre and could find little about it. The riddles themselves had a playful literariness to them, which appealed … Continue reading Why Study Islamic Legal Riddles?
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
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab and Mohammed Rajab, three members of the progressive Bahraini think tank Al-Tajdeed, were sentenced to a year in jail and a fine for "ridiculing" Islam. The sentence is suspended, pending an appeal. For more content and context on harsh interpretations and applications of Islamic criminal law, … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Some observers have estimated that up to 80% of Islamic marriages in Ghana remain unregistered because "there are no forms available for Muslims to register their marriages under the Mohammedan or Islamic law." "The European Union representatives in a United Nations Commission on the Status of Women’s session said that … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In "On the Unconstitutionality of Iran’s Current Constitution" (Lawfare, March 20, 2023), Ms. Constitution (pseudonym), describing Khomeini's 1979 revolution as a "stolen revolution," argues that "[i]t is time for social movements in Iran and Iranian elites to take a page from Khomeini’s book." In "Embracing Love without Boundaries: Knots Tied … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
