Islamic Law in the News Roundup

islamiclawblog

Jan 1

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS

"[T]he U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva reportedly confirmed that 'anecdotal evidence' about [Afghan] girls being permitted to attend Islamic schools was mounting, [along with] worried about whether the girls would be able to study modern subjects in the madrassas and that a generation of Afghan girls were falling behind."
In response, "[a] Taliban official sa[id that] Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in Islamic religious schools that are traditionally boys-only." For more content and context on the recent developments in Afghanistan, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb's "Resource Roundup: Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Islamic Law."
"Iranian police [recently] closed a major bookshop in the centre of the capital Tehran for allowing unveiled women to enter the premises without a compulsory headscarf, a newspaper reported."
"Hours after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced there would be no restrictions on hijab (head scarf) in educational institutions in Karnataka [India], Union minister Giriraj Singh said: 'This is not merely lifting of the ban on hijab but the establishment of Sharia law in the state.'"
"On December 16, Saudi Arabia's highly anticipated Civil Transactions Law came into effect, and expected to have a favourable impact on the business environment."
"Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) director, Harith Fadzilah Abdul Halim, warned that Muslim men [in Malaysia] in the state could still face legal action for the offence of enticing married women under the state's Syariah criminal law," after a court invalidated an arguably similar penal code provision as unconstitutional.
"A member of the Saudi advisory Shoura Council has proposed amending the kingdom's anti-drug law to allow abolishing flogging as a form of punishment, a Saudi news portal has reported." For more content and context on harsh interpretations and applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb's "Resource Roundup: Islamic Criminal Law." For more news blurbs relating to harsh applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our "Islamic Criminal Law in the News Roundup."
"Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad [of Malaysia] [...] said that the bill to limit the sale of cigarettes has been passed and he is in no position to make it haram by Islamic law: 'I am not a mufti to make cigarettes haram.'"

CASES AND FATWĀS

"The High Court [of Malaysia stated that it] will hear a Muslim convert's application to quash a shariah appeals court order which struck out his appeal [to renounce Islam] for failure to comply with the rules of service."
"The contentious issue of crab consumption in Islamic law, due to the creature's existence in both terrestrial and aquatic spheres, known as 'al-hayawan al-barma'i,' has sparked a wide-ranging debate among different Islamic schools of thought."

UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

PIL & Harvard Calendar:

Student work opportunity: Research assistant, Widener Library, Harvard University.

Global Calendar:

Fellowship September 2024-May 2025: Crown Center for Middle East, Brandeis University, January 1, 2024.
Panel on Islamic Law and Constitutionalism: AALS 2024 Meeting, January 4, 2024.
Request for Open Submissions: AALS 2023 Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2023. Submission deadlines vary.
International Conference: Islamic Theology: Uniting Diverse Voices, ISTAC-IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 18-19, 2024.
Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): The jurisprudential corpus and the history of Ibadism in medieval Libya: additions and difficulties, January 24, 2024.
Fellowship: Kamel Center at Yale Law School, 2024-2025, January 31, 2024.
Position opening: Postdoctoral opportunity in History of Islam/Arabic Studies, Leiden University, February 1, 2024.
Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Looking for Libya in Coptic-Arabic historiographical sources, February 21, 2024.
Book award: The Sharmin & Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University, April 1, 2024.
Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Partnership for Heritage. Documentation and heritage management for the protection of the Nafousa Mountains, April 17, 2024.
Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Between Ṭarābulus and Aṭrābulus. The journey of the toponym and difficulties in determining its form, May 22, 2024.
Webinar: Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries): Surveying and documentation of the archaeological city of Barca (Al-Marj), June 26, 2024.
Symposium on Copyright in Islamic Legal Tradition, Istanbul, June 28-29, 2024.
Search for Editor: International Journal of Middle East Studies, until an appointment is made.
Internship opportunity: The Executive Office of the President, White House, various deadlines.
Position opening: Academic mentor and field researcher in Iraq, Cordoba Peace Institute-Geneva (CPI) & ETH Zurich, rolling basis.
Position opening: Academic mentor for researcher in Mogadishu, Cordoba Peace Institute-Geneva (CPI) & ETH Zurich.
Call for Papers: Special Section – Lifewriting Annual and Islam.
Call for Manuscripts: Advances in the Study of Islam, Edinburgh University Press.