From Verse to Value: Qur’an 3.7 and Civic Engagement
A 4-week course with Dr. Anver Emon (Faculty of Law, University of Toronto)
Qur’an 3.7: It is He who revealed to you the Book. In it are determinate verses – they are the mother of the Book. Others are indeterminate. Those with perversity in their heart adhere to those that are of ambiguous meaning, seeking discord and their [hidden] meaning. No one knows their [hidden] meaning except God, and those endowed with knowledge say “we believe in it – all is from our Lord.” No one appreciates [this] except those of understanding.
This short course will offer four sessions to ruminate on the implications of Qur’an 3.7 on the ways in which Muslims have understood and continue to understand the Qur’an, think about Sharia, and reflect upon social values that animate polities ranging from the premodern to the modern, the Western and the Eastern, the North and the South. The readings will be limited, but will expose participants to a wide range of thoughtful consideration on the question of values, whether tafsir of the Qur’an, premodern legal theory, contemporary court cases in the Muslim world, and recent Supreme Court of Canada cases. All these documents will, in the aggregate, illustrate how throughout time and across space, all of us must contend with value claims and the contextual nuances of our often messy lived experience.
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Upper classroom, Noor Cultural Centre
Fee: $100
Class cap: 20 students
For more information or to register, please email [email protected] or phone 416.444.7148 ext. 222.
SESSION 1 June 28, 2009
Qur’an 3.7 and Its Meanings
SESSION 2 July 5, 2009
Sharia and the Debate on Ijtihad: Between the Usul and the Furu’
SESSION 3 July 12, 2009
Modern Muslim Courts and Sharia as the Source of Law
SESSION 4 July 19, 2009
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms: When Fundamental Freedoms Can Be Limited
Anver M. Emon is an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, specializing in Islamic law and history, and teaching first-year torts. While at the Faculty, he has taught introductory and upper year courses on Islamic law, while also supervising graduate students in advanced research in Islamic law and history. Professor Emon’s research focus is on premodern and modern Islamic law and legal theory, premodern modes of governance and adjudication, and the role of Shari’a both inside and outside the Muslim world. His general academic interests include medieval intellectual and religious history; law and religion; legal history; and legal philosophy. His current research projects focus on Islamic legal philosophy; comparative religious legal systems; and legal pluralism. Professor Emon is the founding editor of Middle East Law and Governance: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and sits on the editorial board of The Journal of Law and Religion.