“Is There a Role for Shari’ah in Modern States?”

“Is There a Role for Shari’ah in Modern States?”

The Prince Alwaheed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University held a day-long conference on October 23, 2008 entitled, “Is There a Role for Shari’ah in Modern States?” Speakers included Noah Feldman, Bemis Professor of law at Harvard Law School; Sherman Jackson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Visiting Professor of Law and Professor of African-American Studies at the University of Michigan; Jonathan AC Brown, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Washinton in Seattle; Mahdavi Sunder, Professor of Law at the University of California-Davis; Clark Lombardi, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Washington; Intisaar Raab, PhD Candidate at Princeton University, Nathan J. Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University; Abdulaziz Sachedina, Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia; Mohammed H. Fadel, Professor of Law at Georgetown University; Andrew March, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale University.


Panelists emphasized the inherent flexibilty of Shari’ah in its classical formation, and argued that while Muslims have made various attempts at reconciling the Shari’ah with the nation-state, adjustments must be made on both sides to achieve effective dynamism.


For POMED’s notes on this event, click here.