Skip to 0 minutes and 16 seconds What is the Sharia? What are some of the diverse ways that this concept has been understood in different times and places? What is the relationship between the Sharia and Islamic Law? What are some of the roles that Islamic Law has played in Muslim life, both in the past and today? I’m Dr David Warren and I’m a research fellow here at the University of Edinburgh. My colleagues and I would like you to invite you to join us
Skip to 0 minutes and 42 seconds on an intellectual journey through this online course: “The Sharia and Islamic Law: An Introduction” During this engaging and reflective course, we will work together to explore these two concepts. We will read from cutting edge academic texts and watch interviews with leading experts. We will watch new award-winning documentaries and work through short exercises to help us gain a greater academic understanding of the Sharia and Islamic Law, and move beyond sensationalist or apologetic headlines, social media posts and so on.
Skip to 1 minute and 17 seconds In this course, we will be learning with internationally renowned academic experts from both here at the University of Edinburgh and from across the world to give students the similar kind of immersive and academically challenging experience that we would provide if we were teaching a course of this kind to undergraduates in a university setting. Each week, we will ask questions such as, “What do we mean when we say the word ‘Law’, and what do we mean then when we say ‘Islamic Law’ or use terms like fatwa? How does Islamic Law relate to the Qur’an, and how did it function historically in Muslim society?
Skip to 1 minute and 53 seconds We will also discuss more controversial topics, like crime and punishment, and the impact of colonialism, and how Islamic law is understood and applied in parts of the Muslim world today. So, if you are someone who would like to learn more about what a word like the Sharia has meant for Muslims historically and today, and some of the diverse roles that different understandings of Islamic law play in Muslim lives, then this course is for you. My colleagues and I look forward to welcoming you on to the course.
