KARAMAH’s expertise lies in providing quality education on both Islamic and U.S. civil law. This includes examining how different issues are addressed under each system. Gender and family law are two of KARAMAH’s most important focus areas. KARAMAH educates with the best scholars and experts from our Jurist and Leader Network. This is especially important when discussing issues wrought with misconceptions and misinformation. For “Islamic Law and U.S. Civil Law: Women’s Rights from a Comparative Legal Perspective,” KARAMAH welcomed its former Vice President, attorney and Shari’ah expert Abed Awad, Esq. to address the topic. This lecture marked the second of three events in our Islamic law lecture series with Howard University School of Law
Mr. Awad began by introducing the theory behind Shari’ah, and how the discourse around Shari’ah has lead to increased Islamophobia in the United States and around the world. He explained that the concept of Shari’ah “creeping” into the U.S. legal system was unfounded. While judges may analyze Islamic law as extrinsic evidence, U.S. court decisions are adherent to U.S. state and federal law. He proceeded to discuss specific ways in which Islamic law has been discussed in U.S. courts, and cited specific cases of family law and commercial cases where he served as an expert witness on matters of Islamic law. He clarified also that “extrinsic evidence”, or using expert testimony about Islamic law, does not equate to application of Shari’ah law. Additionally, Mr. Awad elaborated further on the problem of misunderstanding Shari’ah. Contrary to what might be considered popular belief, Shari’ah is based in concepts of equity and justice. For example, Shari’ah law establishes specific financial and property rights for women. To read KARAMAH scholarship on the rights of women, click here. Mr. Awad concluded by addressing the equitable Qur’anic views towards women and men, and mentioned several examples of prominent female teachers, scholars and leaders throughout Islamic history to illustrate this point. An open question and answer session followed the lecture, with most inquiries directed towards nuances of Islamic law towards women in relation to marriage, family, etc.
Through programs such as these KARAMAH looks to develop better understanding and dispel common misconceptions about the status of women under Islamic law. Similarly, KARAMAH hopes to equip lawyers, judges and social service providers with the tools necessary to understand, and thus better assist, members of the Muslim community. As Mr. Awad reminded the audience at the end of his lecture, good lawyers possess a desire to further their knowledge of different legal systems and the underlying principles of said systems. KARAMAH looks forward to the final lecture in this series titled (will insert) on March 19th.
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