For the past several years, KARAMAH has fronted a U.S campaign to analyze the role of Islamic Law in U.S. courts. As seen with a 2008 New Jersey case, testimony about Islamic Law in a civil proceeding can and has been construed as Shari’ah creeping into the U.S. legal system—or so proponents of anti-Shari’ah legislation will have you believe.
On the afternoon of February 20th, KARAMAH met with Howard University law students and faculty to discuss this and other issues. The discussion was moderated by KARAMAH’s Executive Director Ms. Aisha Rahman and Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA) President Samir Islam. Topics of discussion ranged from Islamic and U.S. civil law to women’s rights and other nuanced issues. Many members of the law faculty, including the Dean of Students, Okianer Dark, and students engaged in lively dialogue where many shared personal stories of faith and spirituality as it pertains to public life. There was discussion about interpretations of certain schools of Islamic law, and how those interpretations are applied in the constitutions and laws of Muslim-majority countries.
This discussion circle served as the first in a three part series—the latter two lectures will focus on two specific areas of Islamic law and U.S. law: The first, “Islamic Law and U.S. Civil Law: Women’s Rights from a Comparative Legal Perspective” on February 28th; and “The Limits of Free Speech in a Global Era: Does America’s Free Speech Model Endanger Muslim Americans?” on March 19th. Questions raised at this event confirmed the need for continued education about issues pertaining to Islamic and U.S. civil law—something KARAMAH will continue to provide.Download press attachment
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