Minority Law in Arab States: Governing Religious Diversity

From 14-15 July, the Institute hosted the international conference “Minority Law in Arab States – Governing Religious Diversity” organized by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) and our Institute’s Centre of Expertise for the Law of Arab and Islamic Countries under the leadership of Dörthe Engelcke. Faouzia Zeraoulia, AGYA Co-President, introduced AGYA as an organization.

The conference broke new ground by redirecting attention to the often-overlooked family and inheritance laws of Christian communities in Arab countries. It explored the complex relationship between legal autonomy and the governance of religious diversity, bringing together scholars from law, anthropology, political science, history, and Middle Eastern studies, alongside legal practitioners. The panels explored key themes such as legal pluralism, minority-state relations, gender, and inter-religious dynamics. Discussions examined how Jewish and Christian communities navigated Muslim courts, and how family and inheritance law has been shaped by colonial interventions, regional conflicts, and reform movements. Together, we analyzed the evolving role of minority law within broader legal and political transformations across the region. One panel featured judges from ecclesiastical courts in Jordan and Palestine, who reflected on law-making and adjudication in Christian family law. In her keynote, Maya Mikdashi introduced the concept of sextarianism, a powerful lens to understand the entanglement of law, sex, gender, and state power in Lebanon.

Many thanks to all the speakers and participants who joined us for this exciting conference!

Speakers and contributors:

• Harith Al-Dabbagh (University of Montreal, Canada)
• Salameh Bishara (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, Palestine)
• Judge Scarlet Bishara (Court of First Instance, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, Palestine)
• Nora El Bialy (University of Hamburg, Germany)
• Shéhérazade Elyazidi (Affiliate MPI Hamburg, Germany)
• Dörthe Engelcke (AGYA member / MPI Hamburg, Germany)
• Judge Christine Faddoul (Greek Orthodox Court of Appeal, Amman, Jordan)
• Faraz Firouzi Mandomi (University of Hamburg, Germany)
• Ahmed Fouad (British University in Egypt)
• Wafya Hamouda (Tanta University, Egypt)
• Mujtaba Isani (AGYA member / Quaid-e-Azam University, Pakistan)
• Ayad Yasin Husein Kokha (Salahaddin University–Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq)
• Maya Mikdashi (Rutgers University, USA)
• Lena-Maria Möller (AGYA alumna / Qatar University, Qatar)
• Hoda Nasralla (Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt)
• Gianluca Parolin (The Aga Khan University (International), UK)
• Hanna Pfeifer (AGYA member / Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Germany)
• Ari Schriber (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
• Judge Bassam Shahatit (Court of First Instance of the Greek Melkite Church, Jordan)
• Lev Weitz (The Catholic University of America, USA)
• Nadjma Yassari (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland)
• Faouzia Zeraoulia (AGYA Co-President / University of Jijel, Algeria)

Photograph: © Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law / Anja Hell-Mynarik