A UK family court considered whether and how UK law recognizes a marriage conducted according to Islamic law that had not been accompanied by a civil law marriage. The husband contended that the couple was never married, and the wife—petitioning for divorce—insisted that they were. The two had signed an Islamic marriage contract (nikāḥ) accompanied … Continue reading Case Commentary: Recognition of Islamic Marriage in the UK
SHARIAsource Senior Scholars’ Round Up: Aug 13th
SHARIAsource Senior Scholar Sherman Jackson was named one of CNN’s “25 influential Muslim Americans.” In addition, Senior Scholar Asifa Quraishi-Landes was interviewed on Radio West about a documentary on the Middle East’s first female sharīʿa court judge.
Recent Scholarship: Fadel and Johnson on Constitutionalism
This forthcoming article by SHARIAsource Senior Scholar Mohammad Fadel is due to be published in an upcoming special issue of the International Journal of Constitutional Law. It describes how the development of laws in Egypt through a “deliberative political process” has been negatively impacted by the country’s top court: “The Sounds of Silence: The Supreme … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: Fadel and Johnson on Constitutionalism
In the News: Muslim Marriages in the UK
Last week, an English High Court judge ruled in favor of a Muslim woman seeking a divorce from her husband, despite the fact that their marriage was never formally registered in the UK. The couple performed an Islamic nikāh ceremony 20 years ago, which recognized the marriage on religious terms. However, the judge found that … Continue reading In the News: Muslim Marriages in the UK
Recent Scholarship: Roose on Multiculturalism
SHARIAsource Australia Editor Joshua Roose recently co-authored an article in The Sociological Review discussing how public perceptions of Islamic law have impacted the debate over Muslim immigration and multiculturalism in Australia. "The Limits of Multiculturalism in Australia? The Shari’a Flogging Case of R v. Raad, Fayed, Cifci and Coskun" This article examines a criminal case … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: Roose on Multiculturalism
In The News: Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan
Islamic law was a prominent issue in last week’s elections in Pakistan. According to Reuters, religious parties were “fielding more than 1,500 candidates for national and provincial assemblies, compared with a few hundred in 2013.” The article describes a normalization of campaign rhetoric and slogans “accusing opponents of blasphemy or treason.” Imran Khan, who has … Continue reading In The News: Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan
SHARIAsource Editors and Senior Scholars’ Round Up: July 30th
SHARIAsource U.S. Editor Abed Awad was recently awarded the “Outstanding Scholar Award” by the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association for his work on complex matrimonial cases and Islamic family law. In addition, SHARIAsource Senior Scholar David Powers recently wrote a book review of a new translation of the Qurʾān in Review of Qur’anic Research.
Recent Scholarship: El Shamsy on Islamic Legal History
SHARIAsource Senior Scholar Ahmed El Shamsy recently published an article in the Journal of the American Oriental Society on the historical development of Islamic legal theory. “Bridging the Gap: Two Early Texts of Islamic Legal Theory” This article introduces two surviving, very early legal-theoretical texts, written by Ibn Surayj (d. 306/918) and al-Khaffāf (fl. first … Continue reading Recent Scholarship: El Shamsy on Islamic Legal History
In the News: Sharīʿa Courts in the UK
A recent article in The Huffington Post profiled Dr. Amra Bone, the first female “sharīʿa court” judge in the UK. As a member of the Sharia Council at Birmingham Central Mosque, Dr. Bone hears divorce cases from Muslim couples seeking to get divorced in accordance with their religious traditions (in 2016, she and her colleagues … Continue reading In the News: Sharīʿa Courts in the UK
SHARIAsource Senior Scholars’ Round Up: July 23rd
SHARIAsource Senior Scholar Wael Hallaq has written a new book: Restating Orientalism: A Critique of Modern Knowledge. The book “reevaluates and deepens the critique of Orientalism,” and “exposes the depth of academia’s lethal complicity in modern forms of capitalism, colonialism, and hegemonic power.” In addition, Senior Scholar Noah Feldman published an op-ed in Bloomberg News … Continue reading SHARIAsource Senior Scholars’ Round Up: July 23rd