Shari'a Fellowship Launched by Harvard University for the 2017-2018 Academic Year.

The SHARIAsource Research Fellowship Program provides opportunities for post-doctoral and faculty-level scholars to conduct research on policy-related aspects of Islamic law, which we interpret broadly, during the 2017-2018 academic year. In addition to research conducted to benefit their own pursuits, fellows support the development of policy papers at the intersection of Islamic law and relevant issues of US policy: including short commentary on recent cases or other Islamic law sources, longer policy briefs, or op-eds. All materials will be considered for publication on the SHARIAsource portal and blog. Produced material will be credited to the fellow.
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Visiting Fellowships in Law and Social Change
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Harvard Law School’s Islamic Legal Studies Program: Law and Social Change invites applications for Visiting Fellowships for the 2017–2018 academic year. This fellowship provides opportunities for outstanding scholars and legal practitioners to undertake research, writing, and scholarly engagement on Islamic law that furthers the Program’s mission. We are particularly interested in applicants whose work focuses on human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, minority rights, animal welfare, constitutional law, food law, environmental law and climate change, migration and refugee studies, and related areas.
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ilsp.law.harvard.edu...

This program has been launched at Harvard and it's main purpose is how to implement Shari'a in the United States. Fellows who are accepted for these positions will be receiving an stipend of $5,000 per month.

Last I checked Sharia law is not known for having good "human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, minority rights, animal welfare, constitutional law, food law, environmental law and climate change, migration and refugee studies, and related areas."

Notice how the fellowship announcement states "social change" in relation to introducing Shari'a as it pertains to U.S. policy, which of course will be in the United States.

If you don't think this is a big deal let's look directly at what Shari'a is according to mpusa.org

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Chapter 1
There is a lot of confusion about Shari’a and Islamic Family Law. What is Shari’a?

In Arabic, the word “shari’a” means “way” or “path”. It is pronounced SHA-ree-ah. Shari’a is not a legal system. It is the overall way of life of Islam, as people understand it according to traditional, early interpretations. These early interpretations date from 700 to 900 CE, not long after the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) died in 632 CE. Shari’a can evolve with Islamic societies to address their needs today.
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www.mpvusa.org...

Notice how the Muslim scholar Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im blames "colonization" for Shari'a, when Shari'a is a Muslim way of life.

In a book this Muslim scholar published in 2010, he talks about negotiating the future of Shari'a in Muslim societies throughout the world.

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Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naʿim argues that the coercive enforcement of shariʿa by the state betrays the Qurʿan’s insistence on voluntary acceptance of Islam. Just as the state should be secure from the misuse of religious authority, shariʿa should be freed from the control of the state. State policies or legislation must be based on civic reasons accessible to citizens of all religions. Showing that throughout the history of Islam, Islam and the state have normally been separate, An-Naʿim maintains that ideas of human rights and citizenship are more consistent with Islamic principles than with claims of a supposedly Islamic state to enforce shariʿa. In fact, he suggests, the very idea of an “Islamic state” is based on European ideas of state and law, and not shariʿa or the Islamic tradition.
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Islam and the Secular State Negotiating the Future of Shari`a
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im

According to this Muslim scholar, each individual should be able to decide how to interpret Shari'a, and in this lies the problem because it leaves open for men to treat women, and see Shari'a as they want to, and this would include the extremist views in Shari'a and the argument of this scholar is that the secular state should not get involved in these views of Shari'a.

Of course a state/nation which imposes Shari'a in it's extremist ways is also a bad idea, and we have Sudan as an example of Shari'a extremism being imposed by the state/nation.

But the thing is Shari'a has always existed within the Muslim faith as Mohammed and the early Muslims imposed Islam on the defeated regions they conquered. But instead this Muslim scholar wants to blame "colonization/the west" for the idea of "a global Islamic state".

Meanwhile I believe in personal freedom, I don't admonish debauchery. More so when "human rights" have been lacking throughout the world where Shari'a exists.

When Muslim scholars talk about Human Rights, Women's rights, etc. They are talking about rights as seen through Islamic law.

The Hadith is one of the writings which to this day is used as a guide by Muslim scholars.

Let's see what "women's rights would mean according to the Hadith.

Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:

Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) of `Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion."
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sunnah.com...

What sort of equality exists between men and women according to the Hadith?

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women."

sunnah.com...

So how would Shari'a be compatible with modern western societies when in every nation where Shari'a is the rule there is no equal rights between men and women?

How is Shari'a compatible in western society?

It would be so funny to see Trump have his Edu Sec pull Harvard's accreditation.

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Islam like Christianity and Judaism in it's current form is a corrupt entity. Islam once used to have noble ideas until corruption started coming in.

Sharia 4 everybady!

originally posted by: Snarl
It would be so funny to see Trump have his Edu Sec pull Harvard's accreditation.

Indeed. So many things need to be unplugged from our "elite".

originally posted by: ElectricUniverse


Last I checked Sharia law is not known for having good "human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, minority rights, animal welfare, constitutional law, food law, environmental law and climate change, migration and refugee studies, and related areas."

When and where was the last time you checked? Let me guess, yesterday's Fox news?

originally posted by: EveryUsernameWasTaken

When and where was the last time you checked? Let me guess, yesterday's Fox news?

Unless the Hadith, and other traditional Muslim writings have changed overnight they are the same as those i excerpted, among many others...

Care to show us a country which is ruled by Shari'a and gives equal rights to women and men?

In fact, here you go.

January 4, 2016

Katayoun Kishi

Women
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But in practice, women in both countries are largely absent from high-level political positions, are restricted in marriage, divorce, and citizenship rights, and face discrimination in the workforce and universities.

Iran's constitution is more explicit than the Saudi Basic Law of Governance on women’s rights. Saudi laws rely heavily on judicial interpretations of Sharia law, making it difficult to protect against discrimination. In both countries, however, discriminatory practices continue despite legal attempts at equality.
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iranprimer.usip.org...

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Oh Trump will put an end to that ASAP. There is No place in Democracy for that kind of backward religious belief system. What the hell are these people thinking? Are they High?

Move along people, nothing to see here!

Reuters report that ‘only’ 30% (2.3mil) of Muslims reject secular laws
Look how Reuters is trying to trivialize the fact that million Muslims in France reject French law and lean towards Sharia – and extremism. As if 30% is a small number! In addition, their data on the actual Muslim population number in France is completely off. Irrespective, we are hundred percent sure the real figure is in reverse; 70% support Sharia.

A Pew Forum study, published in January 2011, estimated 4.7 million Muslims in France in 2010 (and forecasted 6.9 million in 2030). According to Jean-Paul Gourévitch (fr), there were 7.7 million Muslims (about 11 percent of the population) in metropolitan France in 2011. So what’s the real figure nationwide?

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

That's disturbing, those responsible for this will pay for it. This alone will eventually cause a Culture War.

It just occurred to me to go on the Google and look up [bush theocracy], after thinking back to all that buzz machine noise the Democrat's used to SCREAM about Republican's being theocrat's.

Found this site:
www.theocracywatch.org...

I'm looking over the front page, no sign of Islam in the sidebar or anywhere else. Lots of talk about the religious right of course. It appears to cut off at 2008. Nooooo way!

[site:www.theocracywatch.org "republican"]
About 245 results (0.39 seconds)

[site:www.theocracywatch.org "bush"]
About 219 results (0.38 seconds)

[site:www.theocracywatch.org "christian"]
About 195 results (0.46 seconds)

Now searching for [site:www.theocracywatch.org "muslim"]:
About 15 results (0.22 seconds)

The pages only appear to cover when Christian's don't like Muslim's.

Okay this one looks like it has a few pages critical [site:www.theocracywatch.org "islam"]:
About 18 results (0.29 seconds)

And here it is [site:www.theocracywatch.org "sharia"]

Your search - site:www.theocracywatch.org "sharia" - did not match any documents.

This program has been launched at Harvard and it's main purpose is how to implement Shari'a in the United States.

Uh, like no?

The purpose of the program is to understand what Shariah is and how to deal with the issues. In other words, to combat idiotic prejudices and misconceptions, such as the notion that Harvard University would pay people $5,000 stipend to help implement Shariah law on U.S. soil.

I assure you, there are Saudis willing to pay sleeper soldiers much better than that to help implement Shariah here. Harvard is on our side, honey. Make no mistake.

--Harvard Man

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Did you know for example that the first university the world has known was founded by a muslim women? How come this problem didn't exist back then ... And that was in the 9th century... (serious question)

The University of al-Qarawiyyin, also written Al Quaraouiyine or Al-Karaouine (Arabic: جامعة القرويين‎‎; Berber: ⵜⵉⵎⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵏ ⵍⵇⴰⵕⴰⵡⵉⵢⵢⵉⵏ; French: Université Al Quaraouiyine), is a university located in Fes, Morocco. It is the oldest existing, continually operating and the first degree awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records[5][6] and is sometimes referred to as the oldest university.[7] The Al Quaraouiyine mosque-religious school / college was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 with an associated school, or madrasa, which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. It was incorporated into Morocco's modern state university system in 1963.

en.wikipedia.org...
www.guinnessworldrecords.com...

a reply to: Namdru

So then they wont be going insane on people who try to criticize the dark side of Islam?

Well I don't think Sharia will or ever could be a threat to the US system or it's laws. I think everyday American partisans are much more dangerous to the continuing survival of the US for a variety of reasons.

Muslims have ZERO chance of taking over our country because our country is designed to promote assimilation. Progressives are here to keeps religion out of politics and conservatives are here to promote hatred and mistrust towards them, a winning combination.

Europe on the other hand is an entirely different story and I do think all of Europe can be conquered by Islam and infiltration.

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
a reply to: Namdru

So then they wont be going insane on people who try to criticize the dark side of Islam?

I doubt it. They will just try to act friendly and create a learned forum. In those forums you'd find few or no actual Shariah adherents. You'd find a lot of scholars, including Muslim women, doing social scientfic research in Muslim communities in the US and elsewhere, writing papers using good research methodologies for peer-reviewed pubications, and presenting those papers in a public forum with feedback from a variety of viewpoints. It can get heated but overall it's sober and extremely boring, academia. Done stuff like that at Harvard and a half-dozen other places. Nobody goes berzerkers unless a ballpoint pen explodes in their tweed jacket. That can mean major nerd meltdown.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

Maybe that's because at least 70% of Americans identify themselves as Christians, compared with roughly 1% as Muslims (found here). That means that our politicians, military, businesses, and populations as a whole are generally going to be Christians. So the vast majority of religious based laws in America are coming from self identified Christians, not Muslims. This includes school boards, city councils, mayors, Governors, State legislatures, unelected bureaucrats, as well as the federal govt as a whole.

Or to put it another way, take a look at every single elected representative you have. I mean at the State, local, and federal level. Now how many of them consider themselves Muslims and how many consider themselves Christians? Look at the sponsors for the "religious freedom" laws, anti-Sharia laws, anti-LGBT laws, bathroom laws, anti-pornography laws, attempts to put 10 Commandment monuments on public land, education related laws to promote intelligent design instead of evolution, etc. It's virtually always self proclaimed Christians who are passing them, which is why they keep showing up in the articles and databases you're searching!

We Muslims barely have any political power at all in the US, yet the right wing acts as if they think we're in charge lol. The left wing, on the other hand, prefers to look at the demographics and the sponsors of the religious-based laws in their regions before jumping to conclusions. Believe it or not, the left wing doesn't want Islam to rule the US either. But unlike many people on the right, the left wing typically recognizes that all Americans should have the freedom to choose the religion or non-religion of their choice. If the sponsors of the religious based laws here were Muslims, we'd be opposed for it too.

Those saying that it's primarily for studying Sharia law and its impact upon Western society are forgetting this bit:

...fellows support the development of policy papers at the intersection of Islamic law and relevant issues of US policy.

Is that not worrying? They are talking about developing new policies for American society based upon making concessions to Islamic law. I am sure there is some legitimacy to this, after all, it is good to know what you're up against, but that policy development is a little concerning.

a reply to: EveryUsernameWasTaken

That isn't the oldest university in the world. Read what it says.

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It is the oldest existing, continually operating and the first degree awarding educational institution
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en.wikipedia.org...

There were far older universities.

It is a known fact that Muslims conquered places like what is today known as Syria and captured universities from those civilizations and claimed them their own.

Brief History of Assyrians
Peter BetBasoo
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One of the greatest Assyrian achievements of the fourth century was the founding of the first university in the world. The School of Nisibis had three departments: theology, philosophy and medicine, and became a magnet and center of intellectual development in the Middle East. The statutes of the School of Nisibis, which have been preserved, later became the model upon which the first Italian university was based.

When Arabs and Islam swept through the Middle East in 630 A.D., they encountered 600 years of Assyrian Christian civilization, with a rich heritage, a highly developed culture, and advanced learning institutions. It is this civilization which became the foundation of the Arab civilization.
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www.aina.org...

Heck, even wikipedia states this fact.

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Islamic empires
See also: Muslim conquest of Persia

After the Arab Islamic Conquest of the mid 7th century AD Assuristan (Assyria) was dissolved as an entity. The previously basic civilisation of the desert dwelling Arabs was greatly enhanced and enriched by the influence and knowledge of native Mesopotamian scientists, physicians, mathematicians, theologians, astronomers, architects, agriculturalists, artists and astrologers.

Assyrian Christians especially Nestorian contributed to the Arab Islamic Civilization during the Ummayads and the Abbasids by translating works of Greek philosophers to Syriac and afterwards to Arabic.[12] They also excelled in philosophy, science (such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Qusta ibn Luqa, Masawaiyh, Patriarch Eutychius, Jabril ibn Bukhtishu etc.) and theology (such as Tatian, Bar Daisan, Babai the Great, Nestorius, Toma bar Yacoub etc.) and the personal physicians of the Abbasid Caliphs were often Assyrian Christians such as the long serving Bukhtishu dynasty.
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en.wikipedia.org...

There were Buddhist universities which were also older than any Muslim university.
There were Hindu universities that were older than any Muslim university. (the Takshashila University was founded in ca 700 BC)

Remember that it was in the 7th century AD, and after the death of Mohammed that Muslims were finally united and began the massive conquering of other races and cultures which had for centuries an educational system and universities.

Heck, the Platonic Academy was founded ca 387 BC in Athens Greece.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Or it means that the Democrat's who made it only ever did so for self-serving double-standard left-right political reasons (i.e. propaganda, NOT actual anti-theocratic pragmatism).