Conference: Call for Papers
Minority Law in Arab States: Governing Religious Diversity

Organized by the Arab German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA)
and the Centre of Expertise for the Law of Arab and Islamic Countries at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany

Arab states have adopted diverse approaches and employed varied strategies to institutionalize family laws and govern religious diversity often granting religious communities a great degree of legal autonomy. These approaches are shaped by historical, social, and political contexts, reflecting the complex interplay between law, religion, and governance.

Compared to Muslim communities, the laws governing religious minorities in Arab states have received little scholarly attention, despite their prevalence, impact, and reform efforts, which they are subject to. In many Arab states, religious communities exercise autonomy in family and inheritance law, allowing their religious leadership to directly shape the rights—and the lack thereof—of their members. Minorities are also disproportionately affected by conflict which exacerbates family law-related issues such as inheritance and property rights.

This conference foregrounds the complex interplay between legal autonomy and the governance of religious diversity. Our aim is to convene scholars employing different methodological and theoretical approaches (especially from law, anthropology, political science, history, Middle Eastern studies) together with legal practitioners and policymakers.

We invite submissions that address particularly, but not exclusively:

1. Legal pluralism,
2. Minority responses to the governance of religious diversity,
3. Gender and inter-religious relationships,
4. The impact of conflict on family laws,
5. International law, institutions, and advocacy,
6. Local, national, and regional policy and reform perspectives.

Paper Submission: Papers should be based on original, unpublished research. We welcome contributions from scholars of all stages of their career. Please send the abstract of your proposed paper (up to 300 words) by March 24, 2025 to Ms. Tess Chemnitzer (chemnitzer@mpipriv.de). Notifications will be sent out by March 31, 2025. A collection of articles based on workshop contributions will be submitted to a leading journal for publication in a special issue.

More information:

• Call for Papers: Minority Law in Arab States 110.88 kB