Religious Law and Human Rights

Bahá’í Temple in Wilmette, Illinois / Istock

This series examines religious law as a human rights issue. Drawing on a variety of cases, contributors explain how Muslim and Jewish law and adjudication operate in the secular legal system of the United Kingdom and the mixed legal order of the State of Israel; how religion is being utilized to alienate religious minorities in Iran and Pakistan; and why traditional courts sometimes successfully replace secular legal institutions in serving justice in Kyrgyzstan. What unites these contributions is the authors’ intent to challenge and deepen readers’ basic knowledge about the interplay between religious law and human rights norms in different legal settings. This series is based on presentations given at the ICLRS 32nd Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2025.

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Localizing Justice: Law and Legality on the State’s Periphery in Kyrgyzstan

Natalia Alenkina is an associate professor at the American University of Central Asia. This post is based on a presentation given at the ICLRS 32nd Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2025.

The post is a part of the Religious Law and Human Rights series.

In societies where formal institutions are weak, justice often depends less on the codified enforcement of laws and more on the ability of communities to sustain trust, moral responsibility, and social inclusion. The courts of aksakals in Kyrgyzstan—community-based bodies composed of respected elders—embody this ongoing search for balance between legality and morality, state authority and community cohesion, and secular justice and religiously informed values.

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