In "The Problem of Authorship and Pseudepigraphy in Islamic Intellectual History," Journal of the History of Ideas blog, W. Sasson Chahanovich addresses the problem of the author in Islamic intellectual history. Chahanovich aims to fill the gap on the lack of research on the topic of ‘forgery,’ i.e. pseudepigraphy, which is "the much-maligned twin of … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
By Yossef Rapoport Recent scholarship on Islamic law tends to accord a positive value to custom. In Wael Hallaq’s compelling narrative, custom and customary law were the medium by which the universal principles of the Sharīʿa were localized and translated into the social order: "Having evolved over the millennia, and adapting to every political, dynastic and … Continue reading Problematizing Custom and Customary Laws
It's my pleasure to introduce our blogger for the month of March: Yossef Rapoport, Professor in Islamic History at Queen Mary University of London. He is a historian of the social, cultural, and legal aspects of life in the Islamic, Arabic-speaking Middle East in its Middle Ages, from about 1000 to 1500 AD. Before joining Queen Mary in … Continue reading Welcome to our March Guest Blogger: Yossef Rapoport
By Lawrence Rosen Some years ago I went up to the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco. That evening, over sweet mint tea and languorous conversation, I happened to mention to my host that I was curious about the Berber law his people used to practice. ‘I must introduce you to my brother, Said,’ he replied: … Continue reading Tribal Law as Islamic Law: The Berber Example
In "Blasphemy Law and Its Interpretation a Pakistan’s Perspective," Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal, (originally published in Al Tafseer), Ataullah Khan Mahmood and Ijaz Ali Chishti examine the blasphemy law of Pakistan in historical perspective. In this article, history of the blasphemy law and its interpretation, including conformity with Islamic principles … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
Thank you to Haider Hamoudi for joining us as the guest blog editor throughout the month of February. In case you missed any of his posts, here they are collected for your reference: Will Baghdad’s Government Decide Shi’i Islam’s Future Highest Jurist? Religion-State Entanglements and the Waqf in Iraq The Libyan Supreme Court and the … Continue reading Thank you, Haider Hamoudi
That marriage creates certain rights and obligations goes without saying. The legal definition of marriage, however, remains contentious, especially in multicultural, religiously diverse and legally pluralistic states and societies where legal and religious definitions of marriage may differ. The complexity of the issue is exacerbated when courts have to balance private and public interests while … Continue reading Marriage as Children’s Play: Unregistered Islamic Marriages under English Law
Fajri Muhammadin and Mohd Hisham Mohd Kamal use an 'aqīdah approach to analyze the notion of Islamic universalism in "The Western Universalism v. Cultural Relativism Debate on Human Rights and Islam - An ‘Aqidah-Based Approach," Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal (originally published in Afkar: Jurnal of Aqidah and Islamic Thought). In "Customary … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
For my final guest post on this esteemed Islamic Law Blog, I wanted to highlight the publication of a recent book on a subject that has not received the treatment it deserves in the Islamic world. This is the highly charged matter of slavery, which Professor Bernard Freamon tackles admirably in Possessed by the Right … Continue reading The Problem of Slavery in Islamic Law: A Review of Possessed by the Right Hand, by Bernard Freamon
By Emily O'Dell Notions in Shīʿī jurisprudence about bodily interventions, such as the mutability of the body and the permissibility of biotechnology to assemble non-normative bodies, are distinct from Sunnī conceptions on these issues. Sunnī fatwās against cloning have been issued by Al-Azhar in Egypt, the Muslim World League in Mecca, the European Council for Fatwa … Continue reading Assembling Clones: Adjudicating Future Bodies in Shīʿī Jurisprudence
