ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS

• “Listening to music, smoking hookah, and getting a Western-style haircut have all become punishable acts under the Taliban’s increasingly oppressive rule in Afghanistan, as highlighted in a recent UN report.”
• “The U.N. report said there was ‘a climate of fear and intimidation’ owing to the Ministry’s invasion of Afghans‘ private lives, ambiguity over its legal powers, and the “disproportionality of punishments.’” 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.”
• “FABMISR, one of Egypt’s largest banks [. . .] announce[d] the appointment of a new Internal Sharia Supervisory Committee (ISSC). This committee will oversee and regulate the implementation of Islamic banking services within FABMISR’s extensive portfolio.”
• “Stearns Bank has recently expanded its faith-based banking services by creating a division dedicated to the Muslim community. Conversations to create the Islamic Banking Division started about a year ago, according to Zeshan Gondal, senior vice president for the division.”
• “Sabah [a Malaysian state] will be among the first states to have four levels of Shariah Courts after tabling an enactment to empower the courts in the State Assembly. . . . State Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Ariffin Mohd Arif said that the new provision in the Shariah Courts Enactment of Sabah includes the establishment of the Supreme Shariah Court, and will further strengthen the justice system in various issues involving Islamic law in Sabah.”
• “The Supreme Court (SC) [of the Philippines] said it will release the results of the 2024 Shari’ah bar exams results [soon]. . . . Those who will pass the Shari’ah Bar exams will be sworn in as Shari’ah counselors-at-law.”

CASES AND FATW?S

• “Saudi Arabia’s most senior religious leader has ordered a conservative cleric to stop giving unauthorized edicts.” “The cleric [had] called for boycotting a supermarket chain that employs women as cashiers.”
• “Buying a shopping coupon book is sort of gambling which is completely banned in Islam, according to an official fatwa issued . . . by the Supreme Scholars Committee in Dubai.”

UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Call for Submissions: Pedagogy Files in Al-?U??r al-Wus??, September 1, 2024.
• Call for Proposals: Hot Topics Program, 2025 Association of American Law Schools Meeting, October 14, 2024.
• Conference: Law, colonialism and gender in the Muslim world, December 19-20, 2024.
• Conference: MESA 2025, Westin Downtown, Washington DC, November 22-25, 2025.
• 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.

Islamic Law in the News Roundup