Spring 2025 Events As we settle into the semester, we invite you to attend our Islamic Law Speaker Series this spring! First up is a book talk on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 12:30-1:30PM US EST via Zoom with PIL Faculty Affiliate, Professor Malika Zeghal (Harvard University), on her recent publication The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa (Princeton University Press, 2024). On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 12:30-1:30PM US EST via Zoom, Professor Mohsen Kadivar (Duke University) will present “The Genealogy of the Death Penalty for Apostasy and Blasphemy in Islam.” Finally, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 12:30-1:30PM US EST via Zoom, Professor Sarah Savant (Aga Khan University) will present “A Cultural History of the Arabic Book: Digital Explorations of Writerly Practices and Text Reuse.” Registration is required. We look forward to you joining us!

CONTENT: Malaysia’s Federal Mufti Bill of 2024 One aim of SHARIAsource is to provide access to sources of Islamic law to support research on salient issues of Islamic law and history, such as Malaysia’s Mufti (Federal Territories) Bill 2024. (A related bill–-the Administration of Islamic Law Act of 1993, as revised in 2024—was just approved by the King in early February 2025.) The Mufti Bill was introduced in Malaysia’s legislature on July 2, 2024 and aims to delineate the roles and responsibilities of the mufti in Malaysia’s Federal Territories.  The Bill further outlines the mufti’s duties in advising the King on Islamic affairs, and it outlines the work of various committees—including a Fatwa Committee, a moonsighting committee, and a committee to supervise Islamic education. The Bill has sparked debate and controversy among Malaysian politicians, lawyers, and legal scholars. This draft bill is available on the SHARIAsource Portal.

CONTEXT: Legislation and Regulation of Islamic Law in Malaysia In a recent essay, Professor Intisar Rabbexamines recent developments legislation and regulation of Islamic law in Malaysia. The essays spotlights updates to sharīʿa (Malay: syariah), or Islamic law, in both Malaysian federal law and in some state criminal laws and policies, including the proposed 2024 Mufti Bill that regulates the authority of muftis over Islamic law, a 2024 federal court decision that invalidates major portions of the State of Kelantan’s Islamic Criminal Code, and  controversial new criminal law enforcement practices in the State of Terengganu. The essay more generally outlines Malaysia’s Islamic legal system, highlighting the relationship between Islamic constitutional principles, Islamic criminal law, and the judicial structure. It offers a “resource roundup” highlighting primary and secondary sources for further reading and research. Read the full essay on the Islamic Law Blog!