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Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies
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Sharia Court Adjudication: Gendered Perspective
By Kyriaki Topidi
… Overall, the conflicting interpretation of religious norms that enjoy state-law recognition should be viewed more holistically as a process depending on numerous factors. The issue from a normative perspective tends to be perceived, not always accurately, as located within Islam itself, but in reality political interests, local culture, socioeconomic backgrounds, and gender considerations, as well as religious dogma, shape the interpretation and use of such norms.
From the perspective of the state, the Greek model in its post-2018 frame still struggles to resolve the issues of consent (i.e., to what extent those using the religious judicial system genuinely wish to do so), of agency (i.e., on what basis members of a religious minority decide to forum shop between jurisdictions), and of the broader compatibility of human rights with Islamic family law. Answers to these questions should advise and guide future reform of sharia courts in Greece.
Religious Minorities in Post-Assad Syria
By Knox Thames & Andrea Pin
Knox Thames, international human rights lawyer and a senior fellow at Pepperdine University, and Andrea Pin, professor of law at University of Padua, discuss religious minority dynamics in post-Assad Syria.
Timeline:
00:05 – Religious freedom under Assad (Thames)
01:43 – Future of Syrian religious and ethnic diversity (Thames)
04:17 – Are Syrian Alawites in danger? (Thames)
05:34 – The role of the U.S. and international community (Thames)
09:07 – Authoritarian regimes and religious freedom in Middle East (Pin)
13:34 – Post-dictatorship state building and religious minorities in Iraq and Syria (Pin)
18:52 – Alawites and other minorities in post-Assad Syria (Pin)
Indonesia’s Religious Freedom Landscape
By Alwi Shihab
Three years ago, the Leimena Institute, in collaboration with many Islamic organizations, established a program of cross-cultural religious literacy in Indonesia. The program aims to enlighten and educate teachers of madrasas, Islamic religious schools. Why? Because, according to one survey, more than 50% of these religious teachers are affected by intolerance. This number is alarming, given that religious teachers are the builders of the younger generation. If we fail to mitigate this challenge, generations of Indonesian youth may end up being intolerant people. The program’s aim is no less than to educate and enlighten the teachers of madrasas to know the exact teachings of Islam, which are far from radicalism and intolerance. The program is aimed not only at Muslim teachers; it also helps Christian religious teachers learn about the teachings of Islam from the original source—the Qur’an and the exemplary life of the Prophet—which do not promote intolerance or human rights violations. To date, the program has graduated around 10,000 people.
Despite the long-established provenance and reach of religious freedom discourse, religious freedom remains an under-fulfilled promise in many contexts and has been under siege in others. Reports by international organizations, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations point to continuing violations of religious freedom worldwide. As a result, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Heiner Bielefeldt has called religious freedom a “human right under pressure.”
Some have even questioned whether religion is fundamentally inconsistent with human rights, particularly equal protection for women and minorities. Religion has been criticized as a source of oppression of the human rights of women and minorities, including sexual minorities and religious minorities (where oppressed by majority religions).
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