Shariah and Australian Family Law

In the first part of this workshop we will define Shariah, examine its sources and development and distinguish Shariah from fiqh. We will also consider whether Shariah is fixed and inflexible or whether it is capable of adjusting to modern circumstances, and the methods which can be utilized to make such adjustments. These include reinterpretation of the texts, the use of contemporary ijtihad to find solutions to modern issues such as new medical technology and modern financing instruments, and the development of collective ijtihad through modern fatawa councils such as the European Council for Islamic Rulings and Research.

The second part of the workshop will deal with Islamic Family Law, and particularly the extent to which it is compatible with Australian Family Law. We will note significant similarities and differences, including contemporary discourses about polygamy, ‘marrying out’ and the problems of women unable to obtain a religious divorce in Australia. Some proposals for Islamic family dispute resolution within the framework of the Australian legal system will also be considered.

Jamila Hussain is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at UTS, teaching Islamic Law and Asian Law and Legal Systems to Australian law students. She has a Graduate Diploma in Shariah Law and Practice and a Masters in Comparative Law from the International Islamic University in Malaysia as well as BA & LLB qualifications from the University of Sydney. Before taking up academic work she practised as a solicitor in NSW, gaining much practical experience in Family Law and she has continued this interest in her academic career particularly concentrating on the needs of Muslim women.

She has written and spoken extensively on this subject at conferences and seminars both in Australia and overseas, her most recent works being “Finding the women’s space” in Tanja Dreher & Chris Ho (eds) Beyond the Hijab Debates, 2009 and a survey of the views of Australian imams towards women’s issues in Shahram Akbarzadeh (ed) Challenging Identities: Muslim Women in Australia, 2010. She has also contributed the ‘Australian Diasporas’ entry to the Brill online Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures.

^ Back To Top