Instructor: Salma Waheedi
Prerequisite: This course is open to students who have taken or are concurrently taking an HLS human rights course.
Exam Type: No Exam
This course will focus on Islamic law and human rights advocacy in Muslim majority and minority contexts. After a brief introduction to Islamic law, the course will examine practical and legal human rights questions at the intersection of Islamic law and its present-day application and interpretations. Through a number of case studies, students will engage in a critical examination of different modes of human rights advocacy across diverse geographic locations and human rights issues at the heart of present-day religion and rights debates. Topics to be examined include religious freedom, women’s rights and domestic relations, sexual relations and sexuality, and freedom of speech. Students will discuss and critique the different strategies employed by local, regional, and international human rights advocates in approaching human rights questions involving religious belief and practice.
Note: This reading group will meet on the following dates: TBD