Call for Papers: Islamic Law & Constitutionalism, AALS Annual Meeting, September 15, 2023

Deadline for Submission: September 15, 2023

Panel Sponsor: Islamic Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS)

The Islamic Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) invites submission of papers for its panel entitled Islamic Law and Constitutionalism at the annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in January 2024.

The panel will discuss topics relating to Islamic law and constitutions, primarily from the modern period. Special interest will be in papers focused on the conference theme of “Defending Democracy.” Broadly speaking, these papers examine how Islamic law operates in constitutional democracies and the challenges, as well as opportunities, that arise. We anticipate that papers might explore a number of issues in Muslim-majority states with commitments to Islamic law and to rights regimes, including (but not limited to): questions around legislation and interpretation, the extent to which Islamic law can or should be a source of state legislation, Islamic law supremacy clauses, the balance of rights, religious obligations and freedoms, who has the authority to interpret and determine the content of Islamic law, the role of popular sovereignty, constitutional reform, and the place of tradition within democracy.

Paper proposals of no more than 500 words should be sent to Adnan Zulfiqar (adnan.zulfiqar@rutgers.edu) no later than September 15, 2023. The Section welcomes submissions from academics at all levels: tenured, pre-tenure, non-tenure track, fellows, visiting assistant professors, adjunct professors, graduate students, etc. You do not need to be based at a law school to submit a paper proposal.

Note that presenters will be expected to pay the membership and registration fees to attend AALS (www.aals.org).