Islamic Religious Authority and Gov’t Responses to COVID-19

Date and time: Thursday, May 21, 2020, 2 to 3 pm Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

Register here.

The Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar Series of classes is designed to shed light on some of the foreign and comparative law issues currently being researched by the foreign law and international law experts at the Law Library of Congress.

This entry in the series will focus on the varying and complex role that Islamic law, official Islamic institutions and councils, and nongovernmental religious bodies are playing in reaction to governmental responses to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan. The presenters will begin with a brief introduction to the place of Islamic law and official religious institutions in each country. They will then discuss the range of social distancing or lockdown measures that have been taken to ban or restrict religious gatherings and congregations. Lastly, they will discuss the various fatwas/declarations of official Dar-ul Iftas, Ulema councils, and prominent religious clerics in support of and/or opposition to these measures, taking into account the diverse political and social contexts and challenges in the three countries.

NOTE: YOU MUST PREPARE YOUR COMPUTER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS WEBINAR. To view the program, you will be using WebEx software, via: installing a plugin, installing a desktop application, or using their “temporary file solution.” If you have the administrator rights to your computer, you may choose to install a plugin in advance. If you cannot or do not want to install the plugin, you will be directed to the temporary file solution when you click on the link for the webinar. This will allow you to download a file. You will then double click the file that you downloaded in order to join the webinar. A page with information to set up your computer is here: http://login.icohere.com/help/help_1/webEx/guide_WebEx_pop.htm.

Please request ADA accommodations at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov.