Joseph Lowry, Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, was interviewed last month by FactCheck.org regarding a viral Facebook post which showed U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar alongside distorted quotations from the Qurʾān. Lowry explained how "some of the interpretations given in the meme are mistranslated, and all of them are … Continue reading Islamic Law Scholars’ Round-Up: Apr 22nd
Recent Scholarship: Erie on Ḥalāl Food in China
Professor Matthew S. Erie (University of Oxford), an expert on Islamic law in China, just published an article in the Journal of Law and Religion on anti-sharīʿa sentiment in China and its impact on the ḥalāl food industry. "Shariʿa as Taboo of Modern Law: Halal Food, Islamophobia, and China" Abstract: Why is shariʿa the taboo … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: Erie on Ḥalāl Food in China
Marzieh Tofighi Darian speaks on her research on the Guardian Council and Judicial Review in Iran
Marzieh Tofighi Darian spoke about her current research on the Guardian Council and judicial review in Iran at the SHARIAsource Lunch Talk on April 16, 2019. She began by detailing the Guardian Council’s place in Iran’s constitutional design and the controversies that arise with Parliament as a result. Expanding its original constitutional mandate, the Guardian Council has become the major player in Iran’s constitutional politics. It regularly rejects Parliament’s proposals, stating that they are not compatible with sharīʿa or various … Continue reading Marzieh Tofighi Darian speaks on her research on the Guardian Council and Judicial Review in Iran
Recent Scholarship: Ostien on Nigeria’s Sharīʿa Courts
Philip Ostien is the editor of The Nigeria Papers, one of the Special Collections on SHARIAsource. The Nigeria Papers is a comprehensive collection of documentary materials and scholarly analysis on the programs of “sharīʿa implementation” (the application of Islamic law) undertaken by 12 northern Nigerian states beginning in 1999 and continuing today. A new paper … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: Ostien on Nigeria’s Sharīʿa Courts
Islamic Law Scholars’ Round-Up: Apr 15
Rutgers–Camden Magazine recently featured an interview with Prof. Adnan Zulfiqar. The interview discusses his article in the West Virginia Law Review on “Jurisdiction over Jihād: Islamic Law and the Duty to Fight." In the interview, Adnan recommends that policymakers in Muslim-majority countries take back control of the jihad narrative. They need to start articulating jihad … Continue reading Islamic Law Scholars’ Round-Up: Apr 15
Recent Scholarship: Islamic Criminal Law Conference
During last month's conference at the University of Tehran on "Criminal Law Development in Muslim-Majority Countries," Paul H. Robinson delivered the opening and closing remarks. His remarks were recently published in Penn Law School's Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series: "Codifying a Sharia-based Criminal Law in Developing Muslim Countries" The opening remarks discuss … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: Islamic Criminal Law Conference
In the News: Brunei
Last week, Brunei enacted its long-standing draft criminal law bill that it first proposed in 2014 in an attempt to bring state control over crime, in a way that responds to both conventional and Islamic traditional norms. Celebrities and media commentators have widely criticized the bill, as reported in major media outlets, for making gay … Continue reading In the News: Brunei
Islamic Law Scholars’ Round-Up: Apr 8
Last month, Asifa Quraishi-Landes and Nadia B. Ahmad published an article in the Washington Post discussing five common misconceptions about the ḥijāb. In addition, Zubair Abassi was quoted in an Al Jazeera article on the experiences of Pakistani women seeking divorces in the country’s family courts. (See also Abbasi’s 2017 SHARIAsource commentary comparing women’s right … Continue reading Islamic Law Scholars’ Round-Up: Apr 8
Recent Scholarship: European Court of Human Rights Ruling on Religious Symbols
Asim Jusic’s recent article in the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion examines a December 2017 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights concerning state limitations on religious symbols. “An (Un)Exceptional Case: Strasbourg’s Court Reserved Nod to Religious Symbols in the Courtroom” In Hamidović v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court found that convicting a … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: European Court of Human Rights Ruling on Religious Symbols
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Speaks on His Love for Basketball and Civil Rights
As the keynote address to the 2019 Harvard Sports Law Symposium on April 1, former NBA player and civil rights activist Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf spoke about his childhood, basketball career and experience advocating for social justice in the United States. Professor Intisar Rabb initiated the conversation in a “fireside chat” with questions about Abdul-Rauf’s inspiration for … Continue reading Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Speaks on His Love for Basketball and Civil Rights