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 … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
By Elizabeth Lhost During my time as guest blogger this month, I’ve demonstrated how sources from the Indian princely states can help historians overcome the binaries, dichotomies, and oppositions that … Continue reading Conclusion: Why the princely states? Why now? What’s next?
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 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
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
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 "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
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
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 … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
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
