Everything from reviews of recent publications and cases to reflections on the book-writing and tenure process for scholars in Islamic law. Junior and senior scholars known in the field of Islamic legal studies are invited to become guest editors of the blog for one-month terms. The posts do not undergo editorial review, and offer room for these scholars to content and context on Islamic law, and more.
By Dominik Krell Introduction Saudi Arabia has a reputation for harsh criminal punishments. In 2025, a record number of 356 people were executed in the Kingdom.[1] Apart from the extensive … Continue reading The Expansion of Taʿzīr in Modern Saudi Arabia
By Dominik Krell Introduction In 2016, a short video clip circulated on the internet, in which the Saudi scholar Ṣāliḥ b. Fawzān al-Fawzān answered questions in a TV broadcast. A … Continue reading The New Grand Mufti and the Future of Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia
By Dominik Krell Introduction Over the last decade, the Saudi government has introduced foreign law on a large scale. In many areas, legislation borrowed from Europe and North America now … Continue reading Is Saudi Arabia’s Legal System Still ‘Islamic’?
Dominik Krell is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, and a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College. His research focuses on the … Continue reading Welcome to our April Guest Bloggers: Dominik Krell and Muhammad Zubair Abbasi
Thank you, Jonathan Brockopp, for joining us as guest blog editor in November. In case you missed his essays, here they are: Four manuscripts from the Mālikī tradition: Al-Azhar, fiqh … Continue reading Thank you, Jonathan Brockopp!
By Jonathan Brockopp When I started my graduate program, I had no idea I would be working on Arabic manuscripts. At that point, I knew more about the manuscript tradition … Continue reading Four manuscripts from the Mālikī tradition: NLPCPM, Raqqada, 10-1648
By Jonathan Brockopp One of the amazing things about the Kairouan collection of manuscripts is that we can identify the handwriting of specific scribes. Local caretakers have known this for … Continue reading Four manuscripts from the Mālikī tradition: NLPCPM, Raqqada, 49-2/915
By Jonathan Brockopp Over the years, I have noticed that shopkeepers in North Africa and the Middle East seem to value the relationship as much as they do the sale; … Continue reading Four manuscripts from the Mālikī tradition: Qarawiyyīn, 874
By Jonathan Brockopp Twenty-five years ago, I was sitting in the office of Dr. Aḥmad Khalīfa Muḥammad ʿAlī, director of manuscripts at al-Azhar University Library. I was there to see … Continue reading Four manuscripts from the Mālikī tradition: Al-Azhar, fiqh Mālikī 1655
Jonathan E. Brockopp is Professor of History, Religious Studies, and Philosophy at the Pennsylvania State University. A specialist on early Muslim scholarly communities, he has worked on the Kairouan collection … Continue reading Welcome to our November Guest Blogger: Jonathan Brockopp
