Islamic Law, Gender, and Politics

Throughout February 2007, American University’s Washington College ofLaw (WCL) sponsored several important forums and conferences as part ofthe college’s “Founders’ Celebration.” The National Muslim Law StudentsAssociation (NMLSA), in conjunction with the WCL’s Islamic Legal Forum,proposed a conference that would look at the intersection of classical andmodern conceptions of Islamic law, discourses around gender and Islam, andthe larger political questions that often frame these issues. Many Muslim lawstudents were interested in engaging with these themes, which emerge fromany discussion on “Islam and/in the West,” or “Islam and Modernity.” Muslimlaw students and the region’s Muslim community in general, as well asinterested non-Muslims, were pleased to hear about WCL’s sponsorship andsupport for the conference, which was held on February 2-3, 2007.Mohammad Fadel (faculty member, School of Law, Toronto University)opened the first panel, “Islamic Law: An Introduction and Critical Issues,” bypresenting the basics of Islamic law. He clarified several misunderstandingsheld by Muslims by distinguishing between the Islamic juristic and legal traditionand the Islamic theological cum philosophical tradition. One of NorthAmerica’s leading scholars on Islamic law and with a J.D. from the ...