The Arab Association of Constitutional Law and the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law, with the support of the “Islamic Legal Studies Program: Law and Social Change” at Harvard Law School, will be holding an international conference in Tunisia during 24-25 March 2017.  The conference title will be: “Religion and the State”.  In order to inform the discussions that will be taking place at the conference, the organisers are commissioning a number of papers, covering the following issues:

1.   Islam and the State

1.1 Post-2011 constitutional negotiations: Since 2011, the debates that took place over the role of Islam in Arab constitutions have frequently been controversial.  This paper should investigate the different methods that were used in the constitution-drafting processes. What are the constitutional options available to Muslim-majority countries in successfully negotiating this issue?

1.2 Secularism, Islam and constitutional law: This paper should survey whether constitutions in Muslim-majority countries currently feature or should feature counter-majoritarian safeguards designed to counteract the potential for theocratic encroachment.  It should also examine what the purpose of such safeguards should be, and in particular whether they can serve the purpose of transitioning towards state secularism within these countries’ constitutions or separating religion and politics.  The paper should also discuss how the relationship between religion and state is worded in comparative practice, particularly to protect state institutions and citizens’ rights from encroachment by religion.

1.3  Islam, democracy and human rights: Most muslim-majority states officially recognise Islam as the state religion and also enshrine liberal democratic principles within their constitutions, even as the larger debate over their compatibility continues. This paper should assess a) the empirical relation between Islamist governance and human rights and/or b) interpretive approaches that have been invoked at times by various state actors in order to reconcile the two.

2.    Islamic Constitutionalism

2.1 Islamic lawmaking: Many Islamic constitutions include a clause establishing “shari’a” or “principles of shari’a” as a/the primary source of legislation. This paper should discuss how legislatures and other lawmaking bodies have interpreted this mandate and how they have translated shari’a and the various schools of shari’a thought (madhahib) into unified, civic codes of law.

2.2 Judicial review: Just as it is empowered to review legislation generally for constitutional compliance, the judicial branch is tasked with holding the legislature accountable to shari’a supremacy clauses. In several states, however, the executive reserves the right to restrain or override this power. This paper should explore the methodology, independence, and activism of the judiciary in its exercise of this privilege along with the complementary checks wielded by the political branches. If appropriate, it might compare Islamic judicial review to more conventional forms of constitutional review or comment upon its impact on society.

2.3 The role of religious institutions: Some scholars have argued that Islamic jurists (ulama’) comprise a “fourth branch” of government in states founded upon Islamic principles. Depending on the state, clerics have alternately been granted sweeping executive authority, limited autonomy over certain religious matters adjudicated in specialized courts, or merely an advisory role to lay judges and lawmakers. In what circumstances is it appropriate to either reserve legal issues to the exclusive jurisdiction of the ulama’ or to seek their input?

3.   Islam and Social Cohesion

3.1 Religious freedom: This paper should discuss whether full religious freedom and equality is possible under Islamic rule, focusing on the condition of religious minorities and/or secularists. It should confront issues such as communitarian notions of citizenship, vestiges of the Ottoman millet system, blasphemy and apostasy laws, equality before the law, and conflict of religious law.

3.2 Women’s rights: This paper should examine the current status of and prospects for women’s rights under Islamic-influenced constitutional systems, engaging in debates surrounding areas such as family and inheritance law, modesty requirements, and political inclusion. It might also explore the avenues Muslim women have taken to advocate for their rights.

Application instructions

Individuals who are interested in participating in the conference must submit an abstract in accordance with the following instructions:

1. If you are interested in carrying out any of the above studies, please send an abstract to conferences@dustour.org no later than 17:00 Tunis time on 18 November 2016.  Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words, which includes the research methodology and the main research question that will be addressed in the study.  Applicants should also send their CVs, including a list of publications, with their abstracts.
2. Abstracts may be submitted by individuals, co-authors or institutions.  Membership in the Arab Association of Constitutional Law is not a requirement.
3. Abstracts and papers are strongly encouraged to adopt a comparative approach.  Abstracts and papers that focus on individual countries will still be considered.
4. Individuals from outside the Arab region who wish to submit an abstract that focuses on developments that are taking place outside the Arab region are encouraged to do so, while ensuring that all discussions are aimed towards furthering and enriching the discussion in the Arab region on the topics set out above.
5. Abstracts may be submitted in Arabic or English.

The individuals who will be selected to carry out the above studies will be required to prepare oral presentations summarizing their findings at the conference.

Call for papers: Paradigmatic Conflict and Crisis: a Graduate Student Conference on the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa – Feb. 28 & Mar. 1, 2013 – Columbia University, New York

The concept of paradigm opens broad possibilities for the analysis of social and intellectual phenomena across diverse traditions and time periods. Paradigm is commonly but not exclusively viewed as a system of knowledge with a particular power structure, within which a set of beliefs or values plays a dominant and defining role.  Studying paradigms may consist of analyzing major social transformations to reveal the paradigmatic tensions and crises underlying them, or employing paradigms as tools to clarify socio-political events. Furthermore, the very notion of paradigm can be contested and transformed.

The annual Graduate Student Conference at Columbia University’s Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) is soliciting papers exploring the debates, moments, and spaces in which paradigms undergo crisis and conflict, or challenge the dominant theoretical positions underpinning its very constitution. Papers can focus on any topic within the humanities and social sciences.

Papers may relate to but need not be bound by the following themes:

–  Paradigm as Comparative Tool: How do paradigmatic elements within intellectual traditions allow for historical and cross-cultural comparative work?

–  Conflict In and Across Paradigms: How is conflict dealt with in a paradigm?

–  Paradigm Shifts: When and how do paradigms become outdated?

–  Critical Theory as Anti-Paradigmatic: How can critical theory challenge established paradigms or paradigm shifts?

–  Paradigmatic Technology: How does the adoption of a given technology challenge, strengthen, or influence the implementation or development of different paradigms?

Students interested in presenting a 20-minute paper should submit a 300-word abstract and one-page CV to the website by January 15th. Panel submissions are encouraged. Exceptional papers will be collected into a digital volume under the conference title.

For all inquiries, contact: info@mesaasgradconference.org

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28th Annual Middle East History and Theory Conference / University of Chicago, May 3-5, 2013

We are pleased to invite students and faculty to submit papers for the 28th Annual *Middle East History and Theory (MEHAT) Conference, to be held May 3­-5, 2013, at the University of Chicago. We welcome a broad range of submissions from across the disciplines, including (but not limited to) anthropology, art history, cinema and media studies, economics, history, literature, philosophy, politics, religion, sociology, or any other topic concerning the Middle East from the advent of Islam to the present day.

Those wishing to participate should send a 250-word abstract to the conference organizers at mehat.chicago@gmail.com by February 15, 2013. We will accept both individual papers and prearranged themed panels; the latter is especially encouraged.

More information about the conference and submission process can be viewed on the Conference page: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/mehat/conference/.