Find out more about the seminar Islamic Legal Theory in the Global Context.

Learning Outcomes

• Have a conceptual awareness of Islamic legal theory;
• Discern Islamic law (Sharia law) from the evolution of Islamic legal theory;
• Learn basic principles of Sharia Law;
• Conceptually situate and assess Islamic legal theory in the context of international rule of law;
• Respond whether or not there could be a conceptual congruence or reconciliation between Islamic legal formalism and globalization;
• Learn neglected theories of Islamic legal theory developed in ancient Persia--teachings of thinkers of Persian literati such as Farabi(870-950) , Al-Gazali (1058-1111), Suhrawardi(1155–1191), and Mulla Sadra (1571-1640);
• Assess the conceptual influence of the European legal theory on conceptual reformations of Islamic legal theory under Ottoman Empire, and establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923;
• Observe Islamic Republic of Iran and its Islamic revolution (1989) in the global context and in regard to international rule of law.

Syllabus

1. Resources of Sharia Law: Kuran, Sunna (prophet's and his disciples' deeds), Consensus, Human wisdom;
2. Principles of Islamic Legal Theory;
3. Teachings of Farabi and Al-Gazali;
4. Teachings of Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra;
5. Globalization, international law, and international rule of law;
6. Possibility of a conceptual (in)congruence between international rule of law and Islamic legal theory;
7. The evolution of Islamic legal theory under the Ottoman Empire (its conceptual interaction with Persian heritage of law and European legal theory);
8. The case of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the current world legal order.