Islamic Law in Comparative Perspectives: Milestones, Methods, and Epistemologies

About the conference:

This event will celebrate Professor Nadjma Yassari’s extensive and influential research on Islamic law, as well as her outstanding contributions to the field of comparative law. It will also serve as an opportunity to reflect on the groundbreaking work of the research group “Changes in God’s Law – An Inner-Islamic Comparison of Family and Succession Laws” which she led from 2009-2024 at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. The symposium will feature several panels that explore the past, present, and future of these disciplines together with former members of the research group, colleagues, and long-standing collaborators.

The symposium will be held on site at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Mittelweg 187, 20148 Hamburg. Please register for the symposium no later than Friday, 27 June 2025 using this LINK.

CONTRIBUTORS

Kilian BÄLZ (Amereller Law Firm Berlin, Cairo, Tripoli)
Karim EL CHAZLI (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland)
Dörthe ENGELCKE (MPI Hamburg, Germany)
Mohammad FADEL (University of Toronto, Canada)
Dominik KRELL (University of Oxford, UK)
Martin LAU (SOAS/University of London, UK)
Ralf MICHAELS (MPI Hamburg, Germany)
Lena-Maria MÖLLER (Qatar University, Qatar)
Gianluca PAROLIN (The Aga Khan University (International), UK)
Rodrigo POLANCO LAZO (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland)
Ilaria PRETELLI (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland)
Anne RÖTHEL (MPI Hamburg, Germany)
Shaheen SARDAR ALI (University of Warwick, UK)
Irene SCHNEIDER (Universities of Göttingen and Erfurt, Germany)
Nadjma YASSARI (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland)

PROGRAMME

THURSDAY, 3 JULY 2025

16:00 Registration

16:15 Welcome by Anne Röthel

16:30 Keynote by Nadjma Yassari

17:30 Festive reception

19:00 End of festive reception

19:00 Conference dinner (panellists only)

FRIDAY, 4 JULY 2025

09:30 Welcome by Ralf Michaels

09:45 Panel I: 25 Years of Research on Islamic Law at the MPI – Building a Regional Department in a Western Institution
Chair: Lena-Maria Möller
Panellists: Nadjma Yassari, Dominik Krell, Kilian Bälz, Karim El Chazli

11:15 Coffee break

11:45 Panel II: Where Do We Stand? The Current State of Research on Normative Systems in Muslim-Majority Countries
Chair: Irene Schneider
Panellists: Mohammad Fadel, Shaheen Sardar Ali, Martin Lau

13:15 Lunch

14:15 Lecture by Dörthe Engelcke: Christian and Islamic Law in Comparative Perspective: Methodological Challenges and Empirical Insights

15:15 Coffee break

15:45 Panel III: Reflections on Comparative Law: Insights from Islamic Legal Studies and Perspectives on Methodology and Knowledge Production
Chair: Nadjma Yassari
Panellists: Rodrigo Polanco Lazo, Ilaria Pretelli, Gianluca Parolin

17:15 Closing discussion