On 22nd May 2025, Professor Seyed Mohammad Ghari S. Fatemi was invited to participate in the opening roundtable of the XI Islamic Legal Studies Conference, held at the University of Münster, Germany. Organised by the International Society for Islamic Legal Studies (ISILS) in collaboration with the Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the conference brought together leading scholars from around the world to explore reform, continuity, and change within diverse Islamic legal traditions.
The opening roundtable, titled “Researching and Teaching Sharia in 2025,” was chaired by Dr Asifa Quraishi (University of Wisconsin–Madison). In his presentation, “Bridging Traditions in Sharia Scholarship: Reflections on Research and Teaching in 2025 in Hybrid Institutions,” Professor Fatemi reflected on the “hybrid epistemology” that shapes legal education and research at institutions such as Al-Mahdi Institute (Birmingham, UK) and Mofid University (Qom, Iran).
He emphasised how these institutions integrate classical Islamic legal sources with contemporary disciplines—such as philosophy, legal and ethical theory, and human rights studies—allowing scholars to remain deeply rooted in tradition while engaging with the ethical and methodological challenges of the modern world.
The conference continued over three days with six thematic panels, including:
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Belonging to a Madhhab: Formation, Cohesion, and Diversity in Islamic Schools of Law
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The Making of Authority in Islamic Jurisprudence: Continuity, Change, and Adaptation
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Historical and Regional Dynamics in Islamic Jurisprudence
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Worldly Affairs, Economic Realities, and Afterworld Concerns
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From Colonial Rule to Postcolonial Dynamics: Legal Practices and Institutional Realities
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Contemporary Legal Challenges, Cultural Shifts, and Popular Culture in Muslim-Majority Societies
The conference also featured a poster session covering diverse research areas such as (De)Colonising Sharia, trajectories of slavery in Islamicate societies, and labour in Islamic legal traditions.
