Shari’a and Halakha in America

April 15 and April 16, 2013

This conference is free and open to the public.

 

Is religious law a threat to American democracy? Is American democracy a threat to religious law?  This conference will explore the challenges faced by -- and presented by -- the Islamic and Jewish legal systems (shari’a and halakha) in America today.  Speakers from the two traditions will also discuss what they can learn from one another's experience.

 

MONDAY, April 15, 2013
Location: IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 565 West Adams, Chicago IL. 

 

TUESDAY, April 16, 2013
Location: UIC Institute for the Humanities, lower level Stevenson Hall, 701 South Morgan, University of Illinois at Chicago 

Conference Schedule:

MONDAY, April 15, 2013
Location: IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 565 West Adams, Chicago IL. 
For Information on location or parking contact: (312) 906-5000

9:00 - 9:15 a.m. - Opening remarks by Dean Krent, IIT Chicago-Kent Law School

9:15-11:45 a.m. - Religious Law in a secular State(I)
Mohsen Kadivar, Visiting Professor of Religious Studies, Duke University
“Shari'a and Jewish Law in US Liberal Democracy: A Case Study of Family Law”

 

Suzanne Stone, Professor of Jewish Law, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
“The Liberal State as an Arm of the Halakha: A Case Study of Divorce" 

Michael Helfand, Associate Professor, Pepperdine School of Law; Associate Director, Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies
“Between Law and Religion: Procedural Challenges to Religious Arbitration Awards”

 

1:15-3:45 p.m. - On Being a Religious Minority in a Liberal Democracy
Mustafa Baig, Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of Manchester
“Operating Islamic Jurisprudence in a non-Muslim State”

David Novak, Professor of the Study of Religion and Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto
“How Can Law-Abiding Jews Participate in Liberal Democracy?”

Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core and Member of President Obama's Inaugural Faith Council
“How to be an American Muslim: Religious Community and National Pluralism in an Age of Islamophobia”

 

4:00 -5:30 p.m. - KEYNOTE LECTURE: 
Michael Broyde, Professor of Law, Emory University;  Former Director and currently Dayan (judge), Beth Din of America
"Suggestions for Shari'a Courts based on the Precedent of the Beth Din of America." 

TUESDAY, April 16, 2013
Location: UIC Institute for the Humanities, lower level Stevenson Hall, 701 South Morgan, University of Illinois at Chicago 

8:45 -9:00 a.m. - Remarks by Dean Tantillo, Universtiy of Illinois at Chicago 

9:00-11:30 a.m. - The Anti-Shari'a Movement in America

Samuel Freedman, New York Times columnist;  professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
“Religious Law as a Wedge Issue: The Shari'a Scare in American Politics”

 

Wajahat Ali, Playwright, Attorney, New media journalist
"Manufacturing Fear: Anti Shari'a Legislation as a Solution in Search of a Problem"

 

Nadia Marzouki, Research Fellow, Religiowest programme, RCSAS, European University Institute
“The Anti-Shari'a movement in the U.S.: Anti-Islam or Anti-globalization?"


12:30-2:45 p.m. - Religious Law in a Secular State (II)
Lena Salaymeh, Robbins Post-Doctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley School of Law
“Inventing ‘Religious Law’ in the United States”

Asher Lopatin, Rabbi, Anshe Shalom;  incoming President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
“Creative Interpretation in Halacha and Shari'a: What is the Definition of Public Prayer?”

Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert, Associate Professor, Religious Studies, Stanford University
“The American Eruv: Halakha in Public Space”

 

3:00 - 4:30 p.m. - KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Mohammed Fadel, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
"Religious Law, Family Law and Arbitration" 

 

This conference is free and open to the public.

Please register by contacting huminst@uic.edu, 312-996-6354, or online.