Sex and Gender Between Islamic Law and Muslim Ethics
Abstract: In this panel, Mariam Sheibani examines “secret marriage” as a case study which reveals the tension and disjuncture between Islamic law and morality, arguing that a close reading and systematic analysis of jurists from the four Sunni schools concerning secret marriages sheds light on the ways in which legal doctrines and ethical reasoning can be at odds with one another. And in opposition to prevailing interpretations among scholars of Islamic law which have prevented women from serving as Sharia court judges, Wesam Shahed examines various strategies employed by advocates for the inclusion of women in the Sharia judiciary grounded in the Qur’an, hadith, and jurisprudential texts.
Panelists: Mariam Sheibani, University of Toronto-Scarborough Wesam Shahed, Michigan State University College of Law Convener: Omar Farahat, McGill University