Posted on by Nathan Oman

Religious Tests and the British Monarchy

Last month the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 formally went into effect in the United Kingdom. It made a number of tweaks to the British monarchy, in large part to make it a rather more liberal institution. Most notably, succession now follows a rule of primogeniture rather than male primogeniture, so the eldest child – male or female – of the monarch is next in line. Under previous law, women were only in the line of succession when there were no male heirs.

The law also touched on marriage and religion. From 1689 to the present, marriage to a Catholic kicked one out of the succession, a response to the marital choices of the Stuarts. British royals may now marry Catholics without losing their place in the succession. They may not, however, be Catholics themselves (more on this anon). Also, the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 has at long last been repealed. Under that law, all of the descendents of George II, regardless of how remote they were from the succession had to obtain royal approval before getting married.   In theory, thousands of marriages by remote descendents of George II were legally questionable. The requirement of royal approval now applies only to the first six in line to the succession.

The king or queen, however, still may not be a Catholic and must be in communion with the Church of England, which would disqualify everyone from Jews to atheists from ascending the throne. The justification for this rule is that the King or Queen is the titular Read more

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Call for Papers: Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law

The University of Zurich is soliciting papers for its Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL).  The Journal is seeking a wide range of unpublished scholarly submissions dealing with Middle Eastern and Islamic law from interdisciplinary perspectives:

The Editors … cordially invite both recognized authorities and younger experts in law, as well as related disciplines, and legal practitioners to take part in this discourse by submitting papers dealing with Middle Eastern and Islamic law from a variety of perspectives, and hence reflect Islam’s variety itself. We further encourage scholars to present interdisciplinary research in which law, both Shari’a and secular, is brought face to face with not strictly legal disciplines such as social and political sciences, religion and economics, in order to further a comprehensive understanding of the simultaneity of persistence and change in the area of Islamic and Middle Eastern law in a wider context.

EJIMEL welcomes a wide range of unpublished scholarly submissions such as articles, commentaries, reports on contemporary developments, book reviews, judgments as well as notes on recent legislation, case law and guidelines on future changes from the targeted law orders.

Further information and guidelines can be found here.

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Jewish Center Lecture: “How Should Our Faith Inform The Laws of A Liberal Democracy?” (April 20)

Jewish CenterOn April 20, the Jewish Center in New York will host its annual Hanno Mott Lecture on Jewish Ethics.  This year’s lecture is entitled “How Should Our Faith Inform The Laws of A Liberal Democracy?”  The lecture will feature a conversation between Israeli Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, Professor Robert George (Princeton University), and Professor Michael Helfand (Pepperdine University School of Law):

The Annual Hanno Mott Lecture on Jewish Ethics is dedicated to exploring the intersection of Jewish Law and secular ethics . Previous lectures have addressed the End of Life debate and the religious and social implication of cloning. This years lecture will highlight Supreme Court decisions both in America and Israel that directly confront religious values in Liberal Democracies and what the relationship between these two modalities should be. This event is free and open to the public.

Details and registration can be found here.

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Atzori, “Islamism and Globalisation in Jordan”

This June, Routledge Press will release “Islamism and Globalisation in Jordan: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Quest for Hegemony” by Daniel Atzori.  The publisher’s description follows:

This book explores the activities of the local Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. It examines how the Brotherhood, working to establish an alternative social, political and moral order through a network of Islamic institutions, made a huge contribution to the transformation of Jordanian society. It reveals, however, that the Brotherhood’s involvement in the economic realm, in Islamic financial activities, led it to engage with the neo-liberal approach to the economy, with the result that the Islamic social institutions created by the Brotherhood, such as charities, lost their importance in favour of profit-oriented activities owned by leading Islamist individuals. The book thereby demonstrates the “hybridisation” of Islamism, and argues that Islamism is not an abstract set of beliefs, but rather a collection of historically constructed practices. The book also illustrates how globalisation is profoundly influencing culture and society in the Arab world, though modified by the adoption of an Islamic framework.

 

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Kamali, “The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam”

This June, Oxford University Press will release “The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam: The Qur’anic Principle of Wasatiyyah” by Mohammad Hashim Kamali (International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies).  The publisher’s description follows:

The Middle PathIn The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam, leading Islamic law expert Mohammad Hashim Kamali examines the concept of wasatiyyah, or moderation, arguing that scholars, religious communities, and policy circles alike must have access to this governing principle that drives the silent majority of Muslims, rather than focusing on the extremist fringe. Kamali explores wasatiyyah in both historical/conceptual terms and in contemporary/practical terms. Tracing the definition and scope of the concept from the foundational sources of Islam, the Qu’ran and Hadith, he demonstrates that wasatiyyah has a long and well-developed history in Islamic law and applies the concept to contemporary issues of global policy, such as justice, women’s rights, environmental and financial balance, and globalization.

Framing his work as an open dialogue against a now-decades long formulation of the arguably destructive Huntingtonian “clash of civilizations” thesis as well as the public rhetoric of fear of Muslim extremism since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Kamali connects historical conceptions of wasatiyyah to the themes of state and international law, governance, and cultural maladies in the Muslim world and beyond. Both a descriptive and prescriptive meditation on a key but often neglected principle of Islam, The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam provides insight into an idea that is in the strategic interest of the West both to show and practice for themselves and to recognize in Muslim countries.