SHARIAsource Special Collections :: The Nigeria Papers: Sharīʿa Implementation in Northern Nigeria SHARIAsource has launched a new set of Special Collections ! These Special Collections are curated resources in Islamic law compiled by staff and editors working in collaboration with SHARIAsource at Harvard Law School. Each is designed to focus on resources that facilitate research and teaching in historical, contemporary, and digital Islamic law. The first collaborative Collection is now available: The Nigeria Papers. Compiled and curated by independent scholar  Philip Ostien, and edited for the Collection by SJD student editor Rabiat Akande , The Nigeria Papers provide  a comprehensive collection of documentary materials and scholarly analysis on the programs of “sharīʿa implementation” undertaken by twelve northern Nigerian states beginning in 1999 and continuing today. The materials include various Northern Nigerian state statutes establishing Sharia Courts and other institutions, Northern Nigerian Islamic Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Codes; and select court cases that have been widely publicized and criticized; and analysis of how Northern Nigerian officials are applying the new laws. Read more. Image credit : SHARIAsource

 

The Nigeria Papers:: A Sourcebook Volume I: Historical Background The first part of The Nigeria Papers Special Collection is the a Sourcebook that contains five volumes. Each volume covers a different topic regarding the implementation of a Northern Nigerian version of Islamic law. For example, Volume I provides historical background. It documents Nigeria’s “Settlement of 1960”, under which, as part of the run-up to Nigerian Independence, important changes were made to the laws and legal institutions of the Northern Region. These changes included abrogation of the previous Islamic criminal laws (as well of all varieties of “ethnic” criminal laws and custom that were formerly applied), and adoption of new Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Codes that Northern Nigerian officials determine to be applicable in all courts in that region. In addition to the Sourcebook, with an additional set of materials, Phil Ostien provides a qualitative and quantitative overview of civil procedure in the new courts, of jurisdiction and judges, of the court caseloads, and of judgments imposed by the courts between 2011 and 2015.  Read more.  Image credit: Panos/BBC

 

SHARIAsource Selects 2018-2019 Visiting Fellow ILSP: SHARIAsource is very pleased to announce that  Mariam Sheibani will be joining us for the 2018-2019 academic year as a Visiting Fellow. We are excited to support her project  Islamic Law in an Age of Crisis and Consolidation: ‘Izz al-Dīn Ibn ‘Abd al-Salām and the Ethical Turn in Medieval Islamic Law . While this year’s pool was competitive, Mariam’s work stood out for its relevance and clarity of thinking. We are very much looking forward to having her here this fall after she receives her PhD from the University of Chicago and begins her career as a young scholar. Read more.  Image credit: Mariam Sheibani

 

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