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WORK TITLE: Shariah Law: Questions and Answers
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 2/7/1944
WEBSITE: http://www.hashimkamali.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Malaysia
NATIONALITY: Afghan
Afghan & Canadian * http://www.hashimkamali.com/index.php/about * http://www.iais.org.my/e/index.php/staff-sp-2037227643/professor-kamali.html
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born February 7, 1944, Lalpur, Nangarhar, Afghanistan; married; children: two.
EDUCATION:Kabul University, B.A., 1965; University of London, LLM, 1972, Ph.D., 1976.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Scholar, educator, writer, and editor. Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan, assistant professor in the Faculty of Law and Political Science, 1965-66; Cassation Court Division, Ministry of Justice, Kabul, Afghanistan, public attorney, 1966-67; Faryab, Afghanistan, directory of public prosecution, 1967-68; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Reading, England, language monitor (Persian, Pashto, and Dari), 1975-1980, chief language monitor, 1980; McGill University, Montreal, Canada, assistant professor in the Institute of Islamic Studies, 1980-84; Research Council of Canada, research associate in social sciences and humanities, 1984-85; International Islamic University, Malaysia, lecturer, 1985-86, professor associate, 1986; professor, 1991-2006, professor in special grade A, 2000-07, professor and dean of International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 2004-06; Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, visiting professor in Law & Graduate Center, 1991; Shariah Advisor Securities Commission, Malaysia, shariah advisor, 2004–; International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia, founding chairman and CEO, 2007–, senior fellow, 2010.
Work-related activities include Institute for Advance Study, Berlin Germany, Gerd Bucerius-Fellow der Zeit-Stiftung, 2000-2001; Constitution Review Commission of Afghanistan, constitution Commissioner, member of executive board and interim chairman, 2003; CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd, Malaysia, chairman of Shariah Committee, 2007–, non-executive director, 2008–; Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, senior fellow, 2007–Aal al-Bayt Royal Institute of Islamic Thought, Amman, Kingdom of Jordan, senior fellow 2005–; Stanlib Corporation, South Africa, chairman of Shariah Board, 2007–.
MEMBER:Afghanistan Academy of Sciences (senior fellow).
WRITINGS
Also author of monographs. Contributor of more than 120 articles to professional journals. Editor-in-chief, Islam and Civilisational Renewal, 2008–. Serves on the international advisory boards of thirteen academic journals published in Malaysia, United States, Canada, Kuwait, India, Australia, and Pakistan.
SIDELIGHTS
Mohammad Hashim Kamali is an Islamic scholar. Several of his books are standard textbooks in English speaking universities around the world. A contributor to scholarly journals, his scholarly works have been translated into Bahasa Indonesia, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Arabic, Bengali, and Turkish. He has also served as a consultant to the United Nations on on constitutional reforms in Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Iraq and advises on a new constitution for Somalia. He has given presentations at over 130 national and international conferences.
The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam
Kamali is also the author, coauthor, and editor of numerous books, primarily on Islamic law and society and life in the Middle East. For example, in his book titled The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam: The Qurʼānic Principle of Wasaṭiyyah, Kamali analyzes various aspects of Islam, examines the historical roots and present aspects of moderation in Islamic tradition, and proposes practical applications of the Islamic concept of wasatiyyah in relation to global policy issues. In examining wasatiyyah, or the concept of moderation, Kamali presents his case that, rather than focusing on the extremist fringe scholars, religious communities, and policymakers should have access to and seriously consider wasatiyyah, which Kamali believes drives the silent majority of Muslims. With a focus on both the historical and contemporary aspects of wasatiyyah, Kamali notes that wasatiyyah has a long history in Islamic law. He goes on to apply the Islamic concept of moderation to contemporary issues related to global policy, including justice, women’s rights, and environmental an financial balance.
Kamali argues against the concept of “clash of civilizations” and the growing rhetoric of fear concerning Muslim extremism following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Throughout the book, he stresses that the concept of wasatiyyah and not radicalism is not the exception but the norm in the discussions of Islamic scholars. The book is written for both scholars and the general public. Kamali addresses “the hysteria over Islam today, hysteria in part instigated by the misappropriation of Islamic traditions by radicals,” wrote I. Blumi for Choice.
Shariah Law
Kamali sets out to clarify aspects of Islamic law in his book title Shariah Law: Questions and Answers. He points out that Shariah law is largely misunderstood an misrepresented in the West and stresses that Shariah law is much more than a system of law but is also fundamentally concerned with a wide range of values and rules necessary for understanding and practicing Islam. Kamali presents a question and answer style format, with the book including 17 sections featuring a total of nearly 200 questions and answers. Kamali begins with sections on the sources of Shariah and legal opinion and on legal pronouncements in Islam, known as fatwahs. He follows with questions and answers concerning marriage and family and issues related to Shariah law an governance.
In a section focusing on Shariah and science issues, Kamali writes about issues ranging from human cloning and genetic engineering on humans, or eugenics, to artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, euthanasia, and abortion. Kamali also includes sections focusing on jihad, war, and violence. In the process he addresses issues such as gender equality and human rights, freedom of religion, banking and finance, and modern bioethical and environmental issues. In examining the theoretical aspects of Shariah law, Kamali discusses how they are applied in the modern world.
“The book is comprehensive in its scope and detailed in discussing how sharia addresses issues ,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor, calling Kamali “a sound scholar.” Islamic Voice website contributor Yusuf Khan remarked: “Kamali does a good job in articulating a more creative and positive understandings of Muslim jurisprudence on several such matters, including issues that earlier Muslim jurists, centuries ago, did not have to deal with,” going on later in the same review to call Shariah Law “a useful contribution to a subject of considerable present-day discussion.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Choice, November, 2015, I. Blumi, review of The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam: The Qurʼānic Principle of Wasaṭiyyah, p. 434.
Publishers Weekly, June 12, 2017, review of Shariah Law: Questions and Answers, p. 61.
ONLINE
Institute of Advanced Islamic Study, http://www.iais.org.my/ (April 12, 2018), author profile.
Islamic Voice, http://islamicvoice.com/ (February 15, 2018), Yusuf Khan, review of Sharia Law.
Mohammad Hashim Kamali Website, http://www.hashimkamali.com/ (April 12, 2018).
Mohammad Hashim Kamali
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HashimKamaliProfessor Mohammad Hashim Kamali is founding CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia (2007—continuing), and a world renowned scholar in his field of specialisation. He served as Professor of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM, 1985–2004); and was Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC, 2004–2006). Currently he is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, a Senior Fellow of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, and also Senior Fellow of the Royal Academy of Jordan. He serves on the International Advisory Board of thirteen academic journals published in Malaysia, USA, Canada, Kuwait, India, Australia and Pakistan. Professor Kamali has served as a member and sometime Chairman of the Constitution Review Commission of Afghanistan (2003); as a UN consultant on constitutional reforms in Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Iraq; and currently advises the UN on a new constitution for Somalia.
He graduated from Kabul University in Afghanistan with 1st Class Honours in Law and Political Science (1965), and served as Public Prosecutor with the Afghan Ministry of Justice for two years. He completed his LLM in Comparative Law, and Ph.D in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, at the University of London (1969–1976); following which he was employed as a broadcasting support staff by the BBC in Reading, UK (1976–1979). Dr. Kamali was Assistant Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University in Montreal (1979–84); and a Research Associate with the Canada Council for Social Science and Humanities (1984–1985). He has been a Visiting Professor at Capital University, Ohio (1991), as well as Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, Germany (2000–2001).
Professor Kamali has given presentations at over 130 national and international conferences, published 20 books and over 120 academic articles. He is a member of the Global Expert Finder Network of the UN Alliance of Civilisations; Chairman of the CIMB Shariah Committee (Malaysia); and Chairman of Shariah Board, Stanlib Corporation (South Africa). He is an original signatory to, and active participant in, the ‘Common Word’ initiative between Muslims and Christians. He delivered the 20th ‘Prominent Scholars Lecture Series’ (Silsila Muhadarat Ulama’ al-Barizin) in 1996 at the Islamic Research and Training Institute in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and the Multaqa Sultan Ahmad Shah Lecture of 2002 in Kuantan.
Professor Kamali has featured frequently in print media, radio, TV and the internet. He published an Open Letter and a full page article in the newspaper Berliner Zeitung just before the Taliban blew up the Bamian Statues, and appeared on the Iranian Republic’s Television network just before the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. He has been featured on RTM Malaysia, Al-Jazeera, Afghanistan Ariana TV, TV Kuwait, Al Arabiya, and The Maldives TV. He was twice awarded IIUM’s ‘Isma‘il al-Faruqi Award for Academic Excellence’ in 1995 & 1997. His books Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, Freedom of Expression in Islam, A Textbook of Hadith Studies, and Shari‘ah Law: An Introduction are standard text books in English speaking Universities worldwide. Professor Kamali’s scholarly studies are translated into Bahasa Indonesia, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Arabic, Bengali, and Turkish; and he is listed in a number of leading international Who’s Who.
For more information about Professor Kamali please visit; www.HashimKamali.com
CURRICULUM VITAE
Mohammad Hashim Kamali, B. A., Law & Political Science, Kabul University, 1965
LLM., Comparative Law, University of London, 1972, Ph.D., University of London. 1976
Current Position: Founding CEO, International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia.
Date and Place of Birth: 7 February 1944, Lalpur, Nangarhar, Afghanistan.
Nationality: Afghan and Canadian, Permanent Resident of Malaysia as of 3 April 2003
Marital Status: Married - have two children born in 1976 and 1979 respectively
Employment
Assistant Professor, Kabul University, Faculty of Law and Political Science 1965-66pen paper
Public Attorney, Cassation Court Division, Ministry of Justice, Kabul 1966-67
Director of Public Prosecution, Faryab, Afghanistan 1967-68
Language Monitor (Persian, Pashto & Dari), British Broadcasting Corporation, Reading, England 1975-80
Chief Language Monitor, British Broadcasting Corporation, Reading, England May-Sep 1980
Assistant Professor, McGill University, Institute of Islamic Studies, Montreal, Canada 1980-84
Research Associate, Social Sciences and Humanities, Research Council of Canada 1984-85
Lecturer, International Islamic University Malaysia June 1985-Feb. 1986
Professor Associate International Islamic University Malaysia Feb. 1986
Professor International Islamic University Malaysia 1991-2006
Promotion to Professor in Special Grade A, International Islamic University Malaysia Jun 2000-Aug 2007
Visiting Professor Capital University, Law & Graduate Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA May-Jul 1991
Shariah Advisor Securities Commission Malaysia 2004 - todate
Gerd Bucerius-Fellow der Zeit-Stiftung, Institute for Advance Study Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg Zu Berlin) 2000-2001
Constitution Commissioner, Member of the Constitution Review Commission of Afghanistan, and member of its Executive Board May-Sep 2003
Interim Chairman Constitution Review Commission of Afghanistan Jul-Aug 2003
Professor & Dean International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), IIUM Jul 2004-Jun 2006
Founding Chairman and CEO International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia Sep 07 - todate
Chairman, CIMB Shariah Committee 2007 - todate
Senior Fellow, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia Sep 07 - todate
Senior Fellow, Aal al-Bayt Royal Institute of Islamic Thought 2005 - todate
Chairman, Shariah Board, Stanlib Corporation, South Africa 2007 – todate
Senior Fellow, Afghanistan Academy of Sciences Aug 08 - todate
Editor-in-chief, Islam and Civilisational Renewal, IAIS Malaysia Oct 2008 – todate
Non-Executive Director, CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd 2008 – todate
Senior Fellow International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia 2010
Publications
- Citizenship and Accountability of Government: An Islamic Perspective. Cambridge: Islamic Text Society 2011. pp. x +321.
- Al-Dalil al-Mubassat fi Maqasid al-shariʿah, being Arabic tr. by Abel al-Latif al-Khayyat of M H Kamali, Maqasid al-shariʿah Made Simple, Beirut: al-Maʿhad al-ʿAlumni li'l-Fikr al-Islami, 1432/2011, pp. 48.
- Monograph entitled, 'Moderation and Balance in Islam: The Qur'ānic Principle of Wasaṭiyyah,' Kuala Lumpur: IAIS Malaysia, 2010. pp iv + 66.
- The Right of Education, Work and Welfare in Islam. Cambridge: Islamic Text Society 2010. pp x + 294.
- Shariah Law: An Introduction. Pashto translation by Nabi Habibi and Abdul Hadi Hagran, May 2009. http//www.rohi.af/fullstory.php?id=3466&CatID=14
- Azadi Bayan, being Persian trans. by M Saeed Hina'i of M H Kamali book, Freedom of Expression in Islam. Tehran, 1381/2009, pp xxi + 200.
Shariah Law: Questions and Answers
Publishers Weekly.
264.24 (June 12, 2017): p61.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Shariah Law: Questions and Answers
Mohammad Hashim Kamali. OneWorld, $19.99 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-178607-150-7
Addressing sharia's sources, objectives, theories of interpretation, and legal maxims in a question-andanswer
format, Kamali (Shariah Law: An Introduction), founding CEO at the International Institute of
Advanced Islamic Studies at the International Islamic University in Malaysia, attempts to "provide an
inkling for a general-interest reader" of the "basic contours of Shariah and Islamic law." The book is
comprehensive in its scope and detailed in discussing how sharia addresses issues such as worship, criminal
law, gender and family, banking and finance, and modern bioethical and environmental concerns. Kamali is
a sound scholar and an encyclopedic source of information on sharia's theoretical and applied aspects, and
this book reflects that erudition. However, although the question-and-answer format makes the text easy to
understand, it makes for dry reading. While attractive for those looking for an academic introduction, this
book may prove too dense for the casual reader. Furthermore, while on the one hand Kamali identifies
sharia as a matter of interpretation and application, he can, at times, treat it as a set system when it suits his
own views. Kamali's presentation of sharia as complex yet understandable is commendable and this book is
worth the effort for those looking to take these questions seriously amid much misunderstanding and
misrepresentation. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Shariah Law: Questions and Answers." Publishers Weekly, 12 June 2017, p. 61. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495720731/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2746a0bc.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495720731
3/24/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1521918523454 2/2
Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. The middle
path of moderation in Islam: the Qur'anic
principle of wasatiyyah
I. Blumi
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.
53.3 (Nov. 2015): p434+.
COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association CHOICE
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/about
Full Text:
Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. The middle path of moderation in Islam: the Qur'anic principle of wasatiyyah.
Oxford, 2015. 320p bibl indexes afp ISBN 9780190226831 cloth, $34.95
(cc) 53-1226
BP188
2014-33399 CIP
With this book, Kamali (founding CEO, International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies [IAIS],
Malaysia) adds to a long list of invaluable corrective studies on Islam targeting both scholarly and general
readers. Quoting extensively from primary Islamic sources, the author illuminates how the stress on
moderation, wasatiyyah, in the practice of Islam is the norm rather than the exception among prominent
Muslim scholars. In so doing, he offers an important counterbalance to the hysteria over Islam today,
hysteria in part instigated by the misappropriation of Islamic traditions by radicals. Moreover, Kamali
makes a crucial set of observations about how moderate Islamic traditions go beyond just dealing tolerantly
with other religions: these traditions relate to any number of contemporary issues the larger world faces, in
particular care for the environment, women's rights, and social and economic justice. Ultimately, Kamali
offers a convincing, sensitive reading of practices of religious pluralism among Muslims. A culmination of
his decades of scholarship on Islamic law and jurisprudence, this book should serve as an important
reference for years to come. Summing Up: *** Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates
through faculty; general readers.--I. Blumi, Georgia State University
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Blumi, I. "Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. The middle path of moderation in Islam: the Qur'anic principle of
wasatiyyah." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Nov. 2015, p. 434+. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A434319562/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7f05fca8. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A434319562
A More Meaningful Understanding of Shariah
admin | February 15, 2018 | 0 Comments
Kamali’s reflections provide helpful guidance geared to promoting gender justice, establishing better relations between Muslims and others, and encouraging peace and justice for all.
Shariah Law: Questions and Answers
By Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Published by Oneworld Publications, Oxford
Pages: 278
Year: 2017
Price: $ 19.99
Reviewed by Yusuf Khan
Hashim Kamali is a prolific writer on issues related to Islam and is the founding CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia. In this new book of his, he reflects on a subject of considerable discussion—on what Muslims understand, in diverse ways, as the Shariah. This complex and complicated subject is often far from easy to fathom, but using an engaging question-and-answer method, Kamali is able to explain difficult issues in simple form, making the book easily accessible to the ‘ordinary’ reader, even those readers who have little or no prior knowledge of Muslim jurisprudence.
Sources of Shariah
The book is divided into 17 sections and highlights almost 200 questions related to Shariah and its diverse understandings. Some answers are elaborate, while others are brief, not more than a few pages, or even a few paragraphs, long. The opening sections of the book deal with various sources of Shariah and legal opinion, followed by sections related to various social and political issues.
Many Muslims seek what they regard as Shariah-based guidance from religious scholars for how to respond to different issues. Kamali does a good job in articulating a more creative and positive understandings of Muslim jurisprudence on several such matters, including issues that earlier Muslim jurists, centuries ago, did not have to deal with. For instance, some Muslims may seek religious guidance with regard to genetic engineering, artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, and so on, and Kamali seeks to suggest meaningful Shariah-based replies to these questions.
Contemporary Sensibilities
Similarly interesting are some of Kamali’s responses, based on his reading of sources of Shariah, on other issues of present-day importance, such as constitutional law and civil liberties, women’s rights, democracy, the separation of powers, and status of statutory legislation side-by-side with Shariah, forms of governance, and fundamental rights and liberties. Some of Kamali’s perspectives depart from prescriptions of traditional Muslim fiqh or jurisprudence in some very creative and positive, according well with contemporary sensibilities and the requirements of a changing social context.
Kamali responds to some pressing questions that are often raised in discussions about Shariah. Readers may find that some of these answers of his offer a more meaningful understanding of Shariah. Much of the discussions about Shariah today relates to issues related to women’s rights, gender relations, Islam, governance and politics, relations between Muslims and others, and the status of non-Muslims according to Shariah. Muslims from different ideological perspectives may offer widely different understandings of these, reflecting their divergent understandings of what Shariah is. Readers may find that Kamali’s reflections on some of these issues provide helpful guidance geared to promoting gender justice, establishing better relations between Muslims and others, and encouraging peace and justice for all.
As with every other book, not every reader will agree with everything that this book says. At the same, it is a useful contribution to a subject of considerable present-day discussion.
Category: Book Review