‘Violence in Sharīʿa and its Contemporary Implications’

The 5th annual fiqhī workshop at Al-Mahdi Institute aims to facilitate scholarship directly addressing questions relating to the topic of “violence in Sharī ͑a andits contemporary implications”.  The Muslim juristic fiqhī discourse has been framed historically as concerned with preserving social order, through offering a framework seeking to regulate the lives of humankind by inferring orthopraxic precepts attempting to capture the judgment of God in any given circumstance. The remit of this framework includes regulations for the sanction of, and limits to, violence in all its forms. Recent years have seen increasing challenges to historically inferred positions, alongside continued attempts to understand precepts afresh, on issues as wide ranging as domestic violence, criminal law and the ethics of war. This workshop seeks to explore justifications, challenges and emerging responses to questions regarding attempts to apply any such regulation of violence, whether that violence be collective, interpersonal or self-directed.

We especially encourage, and invite, paper proposals engaging with the methodological questions involved in justifications for both traditional and alternative perspectives on fiqhī (juristic) readings of matters related to any aspect of the regulation or use of violence in Sharī ͑a with contemporary implications. As in previous gatherings, such fiqhī debate will be situated alongside contributions dealing with broader theological, legal, historical, anthropological and sociological approaches that can enrich a multidisciplinary understanding of contemporary visions for the Sharīʿa regulation of violence.

Proposals for a single presenter should include the following:

• Contact information, and a brief bio of presenter(s),
• Tentative title(s),
• Abstract(s) (300- 500 word).

The deadline for submission of proposals is 8^th May 2016

Accepted applicants from within the E.U. will be supported for their travel and hospitality during the workshop, with a further limited number of travel bursaries available for those applying from outside the E.U.

Proposals and queries should be sent by e-mail to: Dr Ali-reza Bhojani ( alireza@almahdi.edu)

Workshop website.