NEWS | 2 May 2017

 Religion vs. State in the Arab World: Comparing Constitutions

Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University, asserts that "Arab constitutions are not abnormally religious," even though they legally integrate religion in different ways. "Religion appears in the constitutions of the Arab world, almost all with Muslim majorities, in a variety of ways. But aside from ensuring a public role for religion, most of these states are not theocratic. Instead they show considerable diversity by invoking religion (including clauses religious exercise and religious freedom) in at least six ways. Read more.Image credit: Wikimedia

RESOURCES: Country Profiles on Islamic Law

SHARIAsource's resources now include country profiles! These profiles outline the contemporary legal landscape, and the status of Islamic law within each, of the countries and major regions of the world. For example, Bahrain's Country Profile  includes its  constitution and other sources in Arabic and English to help users conduct research or contextualize analyses about Islamic law in that country. Image credit: National Geographic

EVENT:: The Transformation of Anglo-Muhammadan Law: Muslims on British Benches

On April 25th, SHARIAsource Fellow, Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui, at the Islamic Legal Studies Program used the 1881 case of Fidayat ul-Nissa and others  v. Muhammad Ismail Khan (India) to frame her discussion of the creation of Anglo-Muhammadan law. Like the other five cases that she has researched during her fellowship this year, this case  demonstrates the complexity of this hybrid legal system that combined British law with Islamic law in helping to usher on modern models of Islamic law in nation states today. Image credit: Darrick Northington 

Other News
SHARIAsource News Update
Summer is coming, and we are going to monthly newsletters. Please continue to look for regular updates on the portal and the blog submissions.  And we'll continue to let you know of major developments in Islamic law research and resources, and of opportunities and events in the field. 

Opportunities
Job Opening: Associate Director Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies & Mediterranean Studies, Stanford Global Studies Division Forum (Palo Alto, CA). The Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and the Mediterranean Studies Forum (both part of the Stanford Global Studies Division) are academic hubs that foster academic events, research, and teaching related to Islamic Studies and Mediterranean Studies at Stanford University. Reporting to both the Faculty Director and the SGS Executive Director, the Associate Director position provides leadership on programmatic, curricular, and administrative issues. Applications open until position is filled.  Read more.

Call for Papers: Islamic Law and Its Implementation in Asia and the Middle East (6 Oct 2017 | London, UK). In conjunction with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), the editors of the Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (AYBHRHL) invite submissions for the above conference to be held at the British Institute of International & Comparative Law, Russell Square, London. The conference will focus on Islamic law and the implementation of Islamic law in Asia and the Middle East.  Abstracts due 15 May 2017. Read more. 

Postdoctoral Fellowship for Tunisian Scholars (1 Sep 2017 - 30 Jun 2018 | Cambridge, MA). The Tunisia Office of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University invites Tunisian scholars to submit applications for a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. The call for applications is open to scholars in the Humanities or Social Sciences who have received their PhD within the past seven years. Applications are due before 15 May 2017. Read more.

Call for Panels: Comparative Law, Faith and Religion: The Role of Faith in Law (26-28 Oct 2017 | Washington DC).  The American Society of Comparative Law and American University College of Law invites all interested scholars to consider submitting a panel proposal for the upcoming Annual Meeting of the American Society of Comparative Law entitled Comparative Law, Faith and Religion: The Role of Faith in Law. Panel proposals should include up to four speakers, a panel title, and a one-to-two-paragraph description of the ideas that the panel will explore. Proposals are due 1 Jun 2017. Read more.

Annual International Meeting on Law and Society: Walls, Borders, and Bridges: Law and Society in an Inter-Connected World (20-23 Jun 2017 | Mexico City, Mexico). The Law and Society Association's annual meeting will be in Mexico City this year, and jointly sponsored by the Law and Society Association, the Research Committee on the Sociology of Law, and with the participation of the Socio-Legal Studies Association, the Japanese Association of the Sociology of Law, and the Canadian Law and Society Association, and other groups. Sessions on Islamic law will be held every day. See the schedule here. Register here.

Call for Papers: Rethinking Halal: Genealogy, Current Trends, and New Interpretation. (24-25 Apr 2018 | Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium). The Université Catholique de Louvain Chair of the Law and Religions Research Institute in Religions, Societies, Cultures, Spiritualities invites scholars and researchers to speak on the genealogy of halal since Muslim religious scholars started to instruct a written knowledgeable debate on ‘halal’ and to unravel Muslim social practices towards halal. The conference will discuss how the main stake holders in halal (‘ulama, state, halal certificate bodies, scholars) are producing halal norms and standards applying to ‘others’.  Abstracts due by 8 Jan 2018. Read more

Share & Sign Up for News on Islamic Law
Do you have an upcoming event or research opportunity on Islamic law? To include it in our mailings, send details to shariasource@law.harvard.edu

Sign up for general announcements by emailing shariasource@law.harvard.edu with "Sign up for announcements" in the subject line. 
Editors, contributors, scholars, and researchers: collaborate and discuss possible ideas on the community listserv.