Understanding Sharia: Islamic Law in a Globalised World

Shari’a has been a source of misunderstanding across both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. For some, it evokes fear, a “perception both caused and sustained by Samuel Huntington’s thesis of ‘the clash of civilisations’”, argues Dr Mohamed Keshavjee. For others, it simply represents a set of norms and guidelines for living their day-to-day lives, entirely compatible with modern contexts – and of course, there are many views in between.

This timely webinar, hosted by Dr Matthew Nelson and filmed in partnership with the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, aims to help pull back the curtain a little, and demystify shari’a. Disentangling mainstream media narratives from the latest scholarly thinking, it puts shari’a in the context of current debates on the place of Muslim citizens in Western societies, on issues of integration, identity politics, and the role of women. It also sheds light on the complexity of shari’a’s manifestations today, with reference to cases such as the 1980 Hague Convention on Child Abduction, which are covered more fully in Dr Keshavjee’s book, co-authored by Raficq Abdulla, Understanding Sharia: Islamic Law in a Globalised World.

Learn more about the event: https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/2021/april...