Waqf is a complex institution which has been employed by Muslims for over 1000 years to sustain various projects, ranging from private homes, cemeteries, libraries, mosques, schools, to...
Read More »Article: Al-Shāfi’ī’s Position on Analogical Reasoning in Islamic Criminal Law
This article will critically examine al-Shāfi’ī’s complex views on the use of qiyās as a method for establishing culpability under Islamic criminal law and, then explore how his position corresponds to the human rights paradigm in the contemporary age...
Read More »Gamete Donation and the Role of Religious Leaders in Iran
In this article, the “Iranian ART Revolution” that has allowed donor technologies to be admitted as a form of assisted reproduction technology will be examined...
Read More »After the Ayatollah: Institutionalisation and Succession in the Marjaʿiyya of Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍl Allāh
This paper deals with the death of a high religious authority, the Twelver Shiʿi marjaʿ al-taqlīd, or “Grand Ayatollah”, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍl Allāh...
Read More »The Making of a Marjaʿ: Sīstānī and Shiʿi Religious Authority in the Contemporary Age
This paper examines the phenomenon of marjaʿiyya, considers how one becomes a marjaʿ, and traces the rise of Sīstānī to the pre-eminent position that he now holds and juxtaposes his model of leadership with other modern Shiʿi models of...
Read More »Article: Multivocality in Shia Seminary
The sociological study of the Shia theological seminary is a neglected task and I should immediately add that this is not a simple task. The present research is a pioneer in this field that try to explain some hidden aspects in the Shia theological schools...
Read More »Traditional Muslim Family Law and the Compatibility of the Proposed Muslim Marriage Legislation with Shari’ah
The South African Law Reform Commission compiled a draft Bill on Muslim Marriages in 2003. Similar to the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998 with regard to customary marriages, the draft Bill proposes recognition of all Muslim marriages irrespective of...
Read More »The Legal Methodology of “Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat” and its Critics: An Analytical Study
Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat — the jurisprudence of Muslim minorities — is a legal doctrine asserting that Muslim minorities, especially those residing in the...
Read More »Shia as Internal Others: A Salafi Rejection of the ‘Rejecters’ +PDF
Conflict and polemic between Sunni Muslims and Shiites have a long history. In the contemporary era, this polemic has been accentuated by the conflictual situation in the Middle East, and it is also colouring the minority Muslim...
Read More »A Turn in the Epistemology and Hermeneutics of Twentieth Century Usūl al-Fiqh
Law and theology in Islam, as for Christians in medieval Europe, have always had a symbiotic relationship. But whereas western Christians accorded a secondary holy status to the Emperor Justinian’s corpus juris civilis, Muslims could not...
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