Human Dignity Initiative
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Muslim Law in Israel
by Pablo Lerner
Muslim law in Israel is only part of a broader issue: the status of Muslims as a minority in the Jewish state. In contrast to other non-Muslim-majority countries, in Israel, Muslims are a minority not as a consequence of immigration but as a result of the 1948 war. Since then, Muslims have struggled for recognition and to strengthen their collective identity in Israel. Accordingly, Muslim law (Sharia) has played an important role as a cultural and sociological aspect of their Muslim and Palestinian-Israeli identity. While this brief post cannot fully explore the complexity of the Muslim-minority issue, it does discuss the legal aspect and addresses several questions about the relationship between the Israeli legal system and Muslim law.
To understand the place of Muslim law in Israel, one should be aware that Israel is a mixed jurisdiction that is based principally on common law influences but also includes some elements of the civil law tradition. Unlike other mixed jurisdictions (such as Quebec in Canada, Scotland in the United Kingdom, or Louisiana in the United States), the Israeli legal system also includes a religious-law component.
Islamic Law in the United Kingdom
by Brandon Reece Taylorian
Although the Church of England remains England’s established church and receives special privileges, such as being represented by 26 Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords, the United Kingdom (UK) as a whole is governed under secular laws. While there is no clear separation of church and state enshrined in UK legislation, protections have been created for religious minorities who faced severe discrimination and persecution in previous centuries. The first Muslim community to arrive on British shores comprised sailors recruited in India to work for the East India Company in the sixteenth century. Large-scale immigration of Muslims to Britain began in the post–World War II period, with Muslim migrants from former British colonies—predominantly Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan—recruited in large numbers to help rebuild the country. While these Muslim communities, diverse in themselves, largely integrated with British culture, they naturally sought to maintain their cultural and religious identities. One way they have pursued this is by establishing Sharia councils.
There is no doubt that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was an act of aggression by the Russian State. In international law aggression is generally understood as when a country either starts a war against another country or engages in actions that drive another country to go to war. It is grounded in the idea that attacking another country goes against the peace and security and victim states’ own sovereignty and right to self-determination.
People can be prosecuted for their role in planning and participating in the state’s aggressive acts at the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, due to a jurisdictional issue, Russians cannot be prosecuted at the ICC for invading Ukraine. To remedy this, a new Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine was created. Currently, only the Statute of the Special Tribunal is available, and it will be sometime before the Court is up and running. In the meantime, this blog explains what it means to prosecute aggression, the creation of the Special Tribunal, how this Tribunal differs from the ICC, and whether religious leaders can be prosecuted at the Tribunal.
Advocating for Religious Freedom—An Inextinguishable, God-Given Human Right
by HE Archbishop Angaelos
In the book of Isaiah, the prophet declares, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And to open the prisons for those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). This is not just the role of religious leaders; this is the role of every person.
The reality, despite many narratives shared around the world, is that faith and religion matter. As others at this Symposium have discussed so eloquently, 80% of the world’s population sees itself as having some sort of religion or belief and regards it as important. I have had the privilege of being born in Egypt, raised in Australia, and then serving for almost 30 years in the United Kingdom. In these different contexts, religion and religious freedom are experienced differently. In some parts of the world, religion is something that can be compartmentalized, something we put in a box and refer to only at times. But in other parts, it is an indistinguishable part of one’s identity and day-to-day life, and to be denied it is to be denied part of one’s actual identity.
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