Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim

Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law Emeritus

 School of Law, Emory University

1301 Clifton Road

Atlanta, GA 30322 USA

Email: aannaim [at] emory [dot] edu

Teaching and Professional Experience


September 2022 – present Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emeritus Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

June 1995 – August 2022 Professor of Law, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

June 1995 – present Professor of Law, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

July 1993 – April 1995 Executive Director, Human Rights Watch/Africa, Washington, D.C., USA

July 1992 – June 1993 Scholar-in-Residence, The Ford Foundation, Office for the Middle East and North Africa, Cairo, EGYPT

August 1991 – June 1992 Olaf Palme Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, Uppsala University, SWEDEN

August 1988 – January 1991 Ariel F. Sallows Professor of Human Rights, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, CANADA.

August 1985 – July 1987 Visiting Professor of Law, School of Law, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA

November 1976 – June 85 Lecturer and Associate Professor of Law; (Head, Department of Public Law 1979-85) University of Khartoum, SUDAN 


EDUCATION

1976 Ph.D. in Law, University of Edinburgh, SCOTLAND.

1973 Diploma in Criminology (M.A.), University of Cambridge, ENGLAND.

1973 LL.B. (Honours) (LL.M.), University of Cambridge, ENGLAND.

1970 LL.B. (Honours), University of Khartoum, SUDAN.

To read more about Dr. An-Na’im’s publications, lectures, awards, and memberships, click on the following sections to expand the content.

PUBLICATIONS

I. Books
Author
  • — Decolonizing Human Rights, (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

    — What is an American Muslim? Embracing Faith and Citizenship, (Oxford University Press, 2014).

    — Muslims and Global Justice, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010).

    — Islam and Human Rights, Collected Essays in Law Series, edited by Mashood A. Baderin, (Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2010).

    — Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari`a, (Harvard University Press, 2008). First published in Indonesian by Mizan publisher in 2007, Arabic by Merit publisher in 2010, and Chinese by China Social Science Press in 2017.

    — African Constitutionalism and the Role of Islam, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006)

    — Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights and International Law, (Syracuse University Press, 1990).  First published in Arabic in 1994, Indonesian in 1995, Russian in 1999, and Farsi in 2003.

    — Sudanese Criminal law: General Principles of Criminal Responsibility, in Arabic, (Omdurman, Sudan: Huriya Press, 1985).

     

    Editor

    — Inter-religious Marriages among Muslims: Negotiating Religious and Social Identity in Family and Community, (New Delhi, India: Global Media Publications, 2005).

    — Human Rights under African Constitutions: Realizing the Promise for Ourselves, (Philadelphia, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002).

    — Islamic Family Law in a Changing World: A Global Resource Book, (London, UK:  Zed Books, 2002).

    — Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa, (London, UK: Zed Books, 2002).

    — Proselytization and Communal Self-Determination in Africa, (Maryknoll, USA: Orbis Books, 1999).

    — Universal Rights, Local Remedies: Implementing Human Rights in the Legal Systems of Africa, (London, UK: Interights, Afronet, GTZ, 1999).

    — The Cultural Dimensions of Human Rights in the Arab World (Arabic), (Cairo, Egypt: Ibn Khaldoun Center, 1993).

    — Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: Quest for Consensus, (Philadelphia, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).

    Co-editor

    — The Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing, and Social Justice, with Ifi Amadiume, (London, UK: Zed Books, 2000).

    — Human Rights and Religious Values: An Uneasy Relationship?, with J. D. Gort, H. Jansen, & H. M. Vroom,  (Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS: Editions Rodopi B.V., 1995).

    — Human Rights in Africa: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, with Francis Deng, (Washington, D.C., USA: Brookings Institution Press, 1990).

    Translator

    –  Cry of the Owl by Francis Deng, into Arabic, (Cairo, Egypt: Midlight, 1991).

    — The Second Message of Islam by Ustadh Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, into English with Introduction, (Syracuse, NY, USA: Syracuse University Press, 1987).

II. Articles and Chapters

  • “Oh, [Muslims] Believers: Be Just, That is Always Closer to True Piety,” Conversations on Justice from National, International, and Global Perspectives: Dialogues with Leading Thinkers,” Jean-Marc Coicaud and Lynette E. Sieger, editors, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019) pp. 79-100
  • “The Postcolonial Fallacy of ‘Islamic’ Family Law,” Shazia Choudhry and Jonathan Herring, editors (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019), pp. 254-279.
  •  “The Spirit of Laws is not Universal: Alternatives to the Enforcement Paradigm for Human Rights,” Tilburg Law Review21 (2016), pp. 255-274.
  • “The Individual and Collective Self-Liberation Model of Ustadh Mahmoud Mohamed Taha,” in Akeel Bilgrami, editor, Beyond the Secular West (Columbia University Press, 2016), pp. 45-75.
  • “Islamic Politics and the Neutral State: A Friendly Amendment to Rwals?” in Tom Bailey and Valentina Gentile, editors, Rwals and Relgion, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015), pp. 242-265.
  • “Complementary, Not Competing, Claims of Law and Religion: An Islamic Perspective,” Pepperdine Law Review, (2013), Vol. 39, pp. 1231-1255.
  • “The Interdisciplinarity of Human Rights,” in Conor Gearty and Costas Douzinas, editors, The Cambridge Companion to Human Rights Law, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 97-113.
  • “Islam and Human Rights,” in John Witte and M. Christian Green, editors, Religion and Human Rights, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 56-70.
  • “Islam, Sharia and Democratic Transformation in the Arab World,” in Rebellion and Revolution in the Arab Region – From the Perspective of Peace Research Issue 1, Die Friedens-Warte. Journal of International Peace and Organization, (2012), Vol. 87, pp.  “27-41.
  • “Transcending Imperialism: Human Values and Global Citizenship,” The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, Suzan Young, editor, (Salt Lake City, UT, USA: University of Utah Press, 2011), Vol. 30, pp. 71-144.
  • “Religious Norms and Family Law: Is it Legal or Normative Pluralism?” Emory International Law Review,  (2011), Vol. 25:2, pp. 785-809.
  • “Beyond dhimmihood: Citizenship and Human Rights,” in Robert W. Hefner, editor, The New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Culture and Society since 1800, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), Vol. 6, pp. 314-334.
  • “Islam and Secularism,” in Linell Cady and Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, editors, Comparative Secularisms in a Global Age, (New York, NY, USA:, Palgrave MacMillan, 2010), pp. 217-228.
  • “European Islam or Islamic Europe,” in Marie-Claire Foblets and Jean-Yves Carlier, editors, Islam and Europe: Crises are Challenges, (Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, 2010), pp. 85-107.
  • “The Compatibility Dialectic: Mediating the Legitimate Coexistence of Islamic Law and State Law,” Modern Law Review, (2010), Vol. 73:1, pp. 1-29.
  • “Universality of Human Rights: Mediating Paradox to Enhance Practice,” in Miodrag Jovanovic & Ivana Krstic, editors, Human Rights Today – 60 Years of the Universal Declaration, (Utrecht, Netherlands: Eleven International Publishing, 2010), pp. 29-50.
  • “Islam and the Secular State: Framework for Christian-Muslim Relations,” Islamochristiana, Pontifico Instituto di Studi Arabi e D’Islamica (PISA), (Roma, Italy, 2009), Vol. 35, pp. 157-169.
  • “Religion, the State and Constitutionalism in Islamic and Comparative Perspectives,” Drake Law Review, (2009), Vol. 57:4, pp. 829-850.
  • “A Theory of Islam, State and Society,” in Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen and Christian Moe, editors, New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition,  (London, UK: I.B. Tauris & Co, 2009), pp. 145-161.
  • “Shari`a in the Secular State: A Paradox of Separation and Conflation”, in Peri Bearman, Wolfhart Heinrichs and Bernard G. Weiss, editors, The Law Applied: Contextualizing the Islamic Shari`a, (New York, NY, USA: I.B. Tauris, 2008), pp. 321-341.
  • “Human Rights and the Imperative of Cross-Cultural Dialogue: An Islamic Perspective,” in Berma Kelin Goldewijk, editor, Religion, International Relations and Development Cooperation, (Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2007), pp. 305-319.
  • “Competing Visions of History in Internal Islamic Discourse and Islamic-Western Dialogue”, in Jorn Rusen, editor, Time and History: The Variety of Cultures,  (New York, NY, USA and Oxford, UK: Berghahn Books, 2007), pp. 135-150.
  • “Global Citizenship and Human Rights: From Muslims in Europe to European Muslims”, in M.L.P. Loenen and J.E. Goldschmidt, editors, Religious Pluralism and Human Rights in Europe: Where to Draw the Line? (Antwerp, Belgium and Oxford, UK: Intersentia, 2007), pp. 13-55.
  • “The Incremental Success of African Constitutionalism and the Challenges of Consolidation and Maturity,” in Joaquín González Ibáñez, Compilador, Derechos Humanos, Relaciones Internacionales y Globalización,  (Bogota, Colombia: Grupo Editorial Ibáñez / Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, 2006), pp. 373-401.
  • “The Politics of Religion and Morality of Globalization,” in Mark Juergensmeyer, editor, Religion and Global Civil Society, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 23-48.
  • “The Future of Shari`ah and the Debate in Northern Nigeria,” in Philip Ostien, Jamila M. Nasir, and Franz Kogelmann, editors, Comparative Perspectives on Shari`ah in Nigeria, (Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books Limited, 2005), pp. 327-357.
  • “Globalization and Jurisprudence: An Islamic Law Perspective,” Emory Law Journal,   (2005), Vol. 54, pp. 25-51.
  • “The Interdependence of Religion, Secularism, and Human Rights,” Common Knowledge, (2005), Vol. 11:1, pp. 65-80.
  • “‘Area Expressions’ and the Universality of Human Rights: Mediating a Contingent Relationship,” in David P. Forsythe and Patrice C. McMahon, editors, Diversity and Human Rights, (Lincoln, NE, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), pp. 1-21.
  •  “Introduction: Expanding Legal Protection of Human Rights in African Context,” in Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im, editor, Human Rights under African Constitutions: Realizing the Promise for Ourselves,(Philadelphia, PA, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), pp. 1-28.
  • “Religion and Global Civil Society: Inherent Incompatibility or Synergy and Interdependence?” in Marlies Glasius, Mary Kalder and Helmut Anheier, editors, Global Civil Society 2002, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 55-73.
  • “Islamic Fundamentalism and Social Change: Neither the ‘End of History’ nor a ‘Clash of Civilizations’” in Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Busuttil, editors, The Freedom to do God’s Will: Religious Fundamentalism and Social Change, (London, UK: Routledge, 2002), pp. 25-48.
  • “Synergy and Interdependence of Religion, Human Rights and Secularism,” in Joseph Runzo, Nancy M. Martin and Arvind Sharma, editors, Human Rights and Responsibilities in the world religions, (Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications, 2003), pp. 27-49.
  • Earlier version at Polylog: Forum for Intercultural Philosophizing, (2001).
  • “Human Rights in the Arab World: A Regional Perspective,.” Human Rights Quarterly,   (2001), Vol. 23:3, pp. 701-732.
  • “The Legal Protection of Human Rights in Africa: How to Do More with Less,” in Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns, editors, Human Rights: Concepts, Contests, Contingencies, (Ann Arbor, MI, USA: Michigan University Press 2001), pp. 89-115.
  • “Human Rights,” in Judith R. Blau, editor, The Blackwell Companion to Sociology,
  • (Malden, MA, USA: Blackwell Publishers, Inc. 2001), pp. 86-99.
  • “Human Rights and Islamic Identity in France and Uzbekistan: Mediation of the Local and Global,.” Human Rights Quarterly, (2000), Vol. 22:4, pp. 906-941.
  • “Human Rights, Religion, and the Contingency of Universalist Projects.” Occasional Paper, No.2.  PARC, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, (Syracuse University, September 2000), pp. ix-xiv, 1-32.
  • “Sharia and Positive Legislation: Is an Islamic State Possible or Viable?” in Eugene Cotran and Chibli Mallat, General Editors, Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, (1998-1999),  (Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2000), Vol. 5, pp. 29-42.
  •  “Introduction: Competing Claims to Religious Freedom and Communal Self-Determination,” in Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na`im, editor, Proselytization and Communal Self-Determination in Africa, (New York, NY, USA: Orbis Books, 1999), pp. 1-28.
  • “The Position of Islamic States Regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” in Peter Baehr, Cees Flinterman and Mignon Senders, editors, Innovation and Inspiration: Fifty Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,  (Amsterdam, Netherlands: Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1999), pp. 177-192.
  • “Universality of Human Rights: An Islamic Perspective,” in Nisuke Ando, editor, Japan and International Law: Past, Present and Future. (Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 1999), pp. 311-325.
  • “The Cultural Mediation of Human Rights Implementation: Al-Arqam Case in Malaysia,” in Joanne Bauer and Daniel Bell, editors, Human Rights in East Asia.  (New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 147-168.
  • “Human Rights and the Challenge of Relevance: The Case of Collective Rights,”  in Monique Castermans-Holleman, Fried van Hoof & Jacqueline Smith, editors, The Role of the Nation-State in the 21st Century: Human Rights, International Organizations and Foreign Policy, Essays in Honour of Peter Baehr.  (Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 1998), pp. 3-16.
  • “Expanding the Limits of Imagination: Human Rights from a Participatory Approach to New Multilateralism,” Michael G.  Schecter, editor, Innovation in Multilateralism. (Tokyo, Japan, New York, NY, USA, and Paris, France: United Nations University Press, 1998), pp. 205-222.
  • “Islam and Human Rights in Sahilian Africa,” in Eva Evers Rosander and David Westerlund, editors, African Islam and Islam in Africa, (Uppsala, Sweden: The Nordic Africa Institute and Uppsala University, 1997), pp. 79-94.
  • “The Contingent Universality of Human Rights: The Case of Freedom of Expression in African and Islamic Contexts,” Emory International Law Review, (1997), Vol. 10:3, pp. 29-66.
  • “Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa: A Preliminary Report,” (with Amy Madigan and Gary Minkley).  Emory International Law Review, (1997), Vol. 10:3, pp. 287-349.
  • “Self Determination and Unity: The Case of Sudan,” (with Francis Deng). Law and Society (State University of New York at Buffalo, 1997), Vol. 18, pp. 199-223.
  • “Islamic Foundations of Religious Human Rights,” in John Witte, Jr., and Johan D. van der Vyver, editors, Religious Human Rights in Global Perspectives: Religious Perspectives,  (Hague, Netherlands, Boston, MA, USA, and London, UK: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1996), pp. 337-359.
  • “Toward an Islamic Hermeneutics for Human Rights,” in Abdullahi A. An-Na’im et al., editors, Human Rights and Religious Values,  (Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS: Editions Rodopi B.V., 1995), pp. 229-242.
  • “State Responsibility Under International Human Rights Law to Change Religious and Customary Law,” in Rebecca J. Cook, editor, Human Rights of Women: National and International Perspectives, (Philadelphia, PA, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994), pp. 167-188.
  • “Cultural Transformation and Normative Consensus on the Best Interest of the Child,” International Journal of Law and the Family, (1994), Vol. 8, pp. 62-81. Also published in Philip Alston, editor, The Best Interest of the Child: Reconciling Culture and Human Rights. (Oxford, UK: UNICEF, Clarendon Press, 1994), pp. 62-81.
  • “Eritrean Independence and African Constitutionalism: A Sudanese Perspective,” in Amare Takle, editor, Eritrea and Ethiopia: From Conflict to Cooperation, (Lawrenceville, NJ, USA: The Red Sea Press, 1994), pp. 115-138.
  • “The National Question, Secession and Constitutionalism: The Mediation of Competing Claims to Self-Determination,” in Stanley N. Katz, Doug Greenberg and Steve Wheatley, editors, Constitutionalism & Democracy: Transition in the Contemporary World.  (New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 105-125.
  • “Constitutional Discourse and the Civil War in the Sudan,” in M. W. Daly and Ahmad Alawad Sikainga, editors, Civil War in the Sudan.  (London, UK and New York, NY, USA: British Academic Press, 1993), pp. 97-116.
  • “Cross-Cultural Support for Equitable Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, in Kathleen E. Mahoney and Paul J. Mahoney, editors, Human Rights in the Twenty-First Century: Global Challenge.  (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992), pp. 133-148.
  • “Civil Rights in the Islamic Constitutional Traditions: Shared Ideals and Divergent Regimes,” The John Marsahll Law Review, (1992), Vol. 25:2, pp. 267-293.
  • “Islam and National Integration in the Sudan,” in John O. Hunwick, editor, Religion and National Integration in Africa: Islam, Christianity and Politics in the Sudan and Nigeria, (Evanston, IL, USA: Northwestern University Press, 1992), pp. 11-37.
  • “Toward a Cross-Cultural Approach to Defining International Standards of Human Rights: The Meaning of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,” in Abdullahi A. An-Na’im, editor Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives.  (Philadelphia, PA, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), pp. 19-43.
  • “Problems of Universal Cultural Legitimacy for Human Rights,” in Abdullahi An-Na’im and F. M. Deng, editors, Human Rights in Africa: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. (Washington, D.C., USA: The Brookings Institution, 1990), pp. 331-367.
  • “Islam, Islamic Law and the Dilemma of Cultural Legitimacy for Universal Human Rights,” in Claude Welch and Virginia Leary, editors, Asian Perspectives on Human Rights,  (Boulder, CO, USA: Westview Press, 1990), pp. 31-54.
  • “Human Rights in the Muslim World: Socio-Political Conditions and Scriptural Imperatives,” Harvard Human Rights Journal, (1990), Vol. 3, pp. 13-52.
  • “Islamic Ambivalence to Political Violence: Islamic Law and International Terrorism,” German Yearbook of International Law, (1988), Vol. 31, pp. 307-336.
  • “Mahmud Muhammad Taha and the Crisis in Islamic Law Reform: Implications for Interreligious Relations,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies, (Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University, 1988), Vol. 25:1, pp. 1-21.
  • “The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context,” Whittier Law Review, (1987), Vol. 9:3, pp. 491-516.
  • “Islamic Law, International Relations and Human Rights: Challenge and Response,” Cornell International Law Journal, (1987), Vol. 20:2, pp. 317-135.
  • “Christian-Muslim Relations in the Sudan: Peaceful Co-existence at Risk,” in Kail C. Ellis, editor, Vatican, Islam and the Middle East.  (Syracuse, NY, USA: Syracuse University Press, 1987), pp. 265-276.
  • “Religious Minorities under Islamic Law and the Limits of Cultural Relativism,” Human Rights Quarterly, (1987), Vol. 9:1, pp. 1-18.
  • “The Islamic Law of Apostasy and its Modern Applicability: A Case from the Sudan,” Religion, (1986), Vol. 16, pp. 197-223.
  • “Religious Freedom in Egypt: Under the Shadow of the Dhimma System,” in Leonard Swidler, editor, Religious Liberty and Human Rights in Nations and Religions.  (New York, USA: Hippocrene Books, 1986), pp. 43-59.
  • “Detention Without Trial in the Sudan: The Use and Abuse of Legal Powers,” Columbia Human Rights Review, (1986), Vol. 17, pp. 159-187.
  • “The Elusive Islamic Constitution: The Sudanese Experience,” Orient (Hamburg, Germany: Deutsches Orient-Institut, 1985), Vol. 26:3, pp. 329-340.
  • “The Incidence and Duration of the Right of Private Defence in the Sudan” (Arabic). Bulletin of Sudanese Studies, (University of Khartoum, 1985), Vol. 11, pp. 1-36.
  • “A Modern Approach to Human Rights in Islam: Foundations and Implications for Africa,” in Claude Welch and Ronald Meltzer, editors, Human Rights and Development in Africa, (Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York, 1984), pp. 75-89.
  • “Pre-Trial Custody and Release in the Sudan,” Sudan Notes and Records, (University of Khartoum, 1982), Vol. 63, pp. 20-38.
  • “The Many Hats of the Sudanese Magistrate: Role Conflict in Sudanese Criminal Procedure,” Journal of African Law, (1978), Vol. 22:1, pp. 50-62.
  • “A Comparative Approach to Some Problems of Pre-Trial Discovery,” Sudan Law Journal and Reports, (1974), pp. 75-95.

III. Short Articles, Book Reviews, Etc

  • “Viable Theory of Islamic Reform is Necessary but Insufficient for Political Stability and Social Justice,” IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook 2017, pp. 75-80.
  •  “The Legitimacy of Constitution-Making Processes in the Arab World: An Islamic Perspective,” in Rainer Grote & Tilmann J. Roder, editors, Constitutionalism, Human Rights, and Islam after the Arab Spring (Oxford University Press, 2016), pp 29-42.
  • “The Constant Mediation of Resentment and Retaliation,” in Seyla Benhabib and Volker Kaul, editors, Toward New Democratic Imaginaries – Istanbul Seminars on Islam, Culture and Politics, (Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, 2016), pp. 219-227
  • “International Religious Freedom at Home in Secular Legal Context,” in Monica Lugato, editor, International Religious Freedom and the Global Clash of Values,” Proceedings of the International Conference held in Rome, 20-21 June, 2014, (Torino: G. Giappichelli Editore, 2015), pp. 123-134
  • “Epilogue: The Normative Relevance of Sharia in the Modern Context,” in RudolphPeters and Peri Bearman, editors, The Ashgate Research Companion to Islamic Law (pp. 307-319.
  • “Freedoms of Speech and Religion in the Islamic Context,” in David Marshall, editor, Tradition and Modernity: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2013), pp. 57-66.
  • “An Inclusive Approach to the Mediation of Competing Human Rights Claims,” Constellations, an International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, (2013), Vol. 20:1, pp. 7-17.
  • “Editorial Note: From the Neocolonial ‘Transitional’ to Indigenous Formations of Justice,” The International Journal of Transitional Justice, Vol. 7:3, (2013), pp. 1-8.
  • “Critical Reflections on Torture, Religion and Politics,” The Muslim World, Special Issue, (2013), Vol. 103:2, pp. 259-266.
  • “Toward an Islamic Society, Not an Islamic State.” in Robin Griffith-Jones, editor, Islam and English Law, (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp. 238-244.
  • “Freedoms of Speech and Religion in the Islamic Context.” in David Marshall, editor, Tradition and Modernity: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2013), pp. 57-66.
  •  “Banning Sharia is a ‘Red Herring’: The Way Forward for All Americans,” Saint Louis University Law Journal, (2013), Vol. 57:2, 287-296.
  • “An Inclusive Approach to the Mediation of Competing Human Rights Claims,” Constellations, (2013), Vol. 20:1, pp. 7-17.
  • “The Constant Mediation of Resentment and Retaliation,” Philosophy and Social Criticism, (2012), Vol. 38:4-5, pp. 351-358.
  • “Taming the Imperial Impulse: Realising a Pragmatic Moral Vision,” Economic and    Political Weekly, special issue, “Reflections on Empire”(guest edited by Rohit Chopra), (2011), Vol. 46:13, pp. 50-59.
  • “Why Should Muslims Abandon Jihad? Human Rights and the Future of International Law,” Third World Quarterly, (2006), Vol. 27:5, pp. 785-97.
  •  “Toward a Normative and Institutional Framework for Cosmopolitan Justice,”  Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, (2006), Vol. 26:1, pp. 51-62.
  • “The Role of ‘Community Discourse’ in Combating ‘Crimes of Honour’: Preliminary Assessment and Prospects,” in Lynn Welchman and Sara Hossain, editors, ‘Honour:’ Crimes, Paradigms and Violence against Women. (London: Zed Books, 2006), pp. 64-77.
  • “September 11th and the Search for Justice and Accountability,” in Amy Benson Brown and Karen M. Poremski, editors, Road to Reconciliation: Conflict and Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century. (Armonk, NY, USA: M.E. Sharpe, 2005), pp. 231-48.
  • “Islam and International Law: Toward a Positive Mutual Engagement to Realize Shared Ideals,” Proceedings of the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, (2004), pp. 159-166.
  • “To Affirm the Full Human Rights Standing of Economic, Social & Cultural Rights,” in Yash Ghai & Jill Cottrell, editors, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights in Practice: The Role of Judges in Implementing Economic, Social & Cultural Rights.  (London, UK: Interights, 2004), pp. 7-16.
  • “Mediating and Negotiating the Universality of Human Rights through Practice,” in Jude Murison, Anne Griffiths and Kenneth King, editors, Remaking Law in Africa: Transnationalism, Persons and Rights, Edinburgh, Scotland: Centre of African Studies, (University of Edinburgh, 2004), pp. 99-112.
  • Book Review, “Challenging Liberalism on Its Own Rationale to Support an Affirmative Role for the State,” A Review of Martin Scheinin, editor, Welfare State and Constitutionalism: Nordic Perspectives (Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers 2001), in I.CON, (2003), Vol. 1:4, pp. 741-746.
  • “Toward a More People-Centered Human Rights Movement,” in Diana Amneus and Goran Gunner, editors, Human Rights- From the Frontiers of Research, (Uppsala, Sweden: Iustus Folag, 2002), pp. 33-38.
  • “Shari`ah as Secular Law?” Annual Review of Islam in South Africa, Center for Contemporary       Islam, University of Cape Town, (2002), Vol. 5, pp. 60-62.
  • “Toward a Universal Doctrine of Reparation for Violations of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law,” International Law Forum, (Hague, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2003), Vol. 5:1, pp.27-36.
  • Book Review, “Redressing Universal Ambivalence about the Universality of Human Rights,” Review of Lynda S. Bell, Andrew J. Nathan and Ilan Peleg, editors, Negotiating Culture and Human Rights (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), in Journal of Human Rights, (2002), Vol. 1:4, pp. 607-609.
  • “Upholding International Legality against Islamic and American Jihad,” in Ken Booth and Tim Dunne, Worlds in Collision: Terror and the Future of Global Order.  (Houndmills, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), pp. 162-171.
  • “Islam and Human Rights: Beyond the Universality Debate,” Proceedings of the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, (2000), pp. 95-101.
  • “Islamic Foundations for Women’s Human Rights,” in Zainah Anwar and Rashidah Abdullah, editors, Islam, Reproductive Health and Women’s Human Rights.  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Sisters in Islam (SIS Forum Malaysia), (2000), pp. 33-57.
  • “The Spirit of the Ghost of Islamic Law,” The Green Bag, 2D Series, (1999), Vol. 2:4, pp. 441-447.
  • “Promises We Should All Keep in Common Cause,” in Joshua Cohen, Matthew Howard and Martha C. Nussbaum, editors, Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999), pp. 59-64.
  • “The Universal Declaration as a Living and Evolving Common Standard of Achievement,” in Barend van der Heijden and Bahia Tahzib-Lie, editors, Reflections on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Fiftieth Anniversary Anthology, (Hague, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1998), pp. 45-51.
  •  “Consciousness of Vulnerability,” in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, A Human Rights Message, (1998), pp. 16-19.
  • Reforming Islam: Sudan and the Paradox of Self-Determination,” Harvard International Review, (1997), Vol. 19: 2, pp. 24-27, 64.
  • “A New Islamic Politics: Faith and Human Rights in the Middle East,” Foreign Affairs, (1996), Vol. 75:3, pp. 122-126.
  • “The Dichotomy between Religious and Secular Discourse in Islamic Societies,” in Mahnaz Afkhami, editor, Faith and Freedom: Women’s Human Rights in the Muslim World (London, UK: I.B. Tauris & Co, 1995), pp. 51-60.
  • “Which Way Islam-Democracy or Oppression?” and “Gender and Democracy in the Islamic Context: The Current Experience of Sudan,” in Mia Melin, editor, Democracy in Africa: On Whose Terms? (Stockholm, Sweden: Forum Syd, 1995), pp. 129-36, 197-204.
  • “What Do We Mean by Universal?” Index on Censorship, (1994), pp. 120-128.
  • “Toward an Islamic Reformation: Islamic Law in History and Society Today,” and “Umma and Citizenry in a Contemporary Muslim Country,” in Norani Othman, editor, Sharia and the Modern Nation-State.  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Sisters in Islam (SIS Forum Malaysia), (1994), pp. 7-20, 69-76.
  • “Toward an Islamic Reformation: Responses and Reflections,” and “The Application of Shari`a (Islamic Law) and Human Rights Violations in the Sudan,” in Tore Lindholm and Kari Vogt, editors, Islamic Law Reform: Challenges and Rejoinders.  Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, (1993), pp. 97-116, 135-148.
  •  “A Kinder, Gentler Islam?” Transition, (1991), Vol. 52, pp. 4-16.
  • Review of Rainer Knopff with Thomas Flangan, Human Rights and Social Technology: The New War on Discrimination, (Ottawa, Canada: Carleton University Press, 1989), published in The Canadian Bar Review, (1990), Vol. 69:2, pp. 389-393.
  • Review of Bradford W. Morse and Gordeon R. Woodman, editors, Indigenous Law and the State, (Providence, RI: Foris Publications, 1988), published in The Canadian Bar Review, (1989), Vol. 68:1, pp. 217-221.
  • “Constitution and Islamization in the Sudan,” Africa Today, (1989), Vol. 36:3 & 4, pp. 11-28.
  • “The OAU and the Rights of Peoples to Self-Determination: A Plea for a Fresh Approach,” African Today (1988), Vol. 35:3 & 4, pp. 27-36.
  • Review of R. P. Anand, Confrontation or Cooperation? International Law and the Developing Countries, (New Delhi, India: Banyan Publications, 1984); and Anthony Carty, A Reappraisal of the Limits of Legal Imagination in International Affairs, (Manchester, England, Manchester University Press, 1986), published in Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, (1987), Vol. 26:1, pp. 755-764.
  • Review of D. Trindade and H. Lee, editors, The Constitution of Malaysia: Further Perspective and Developments, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), published in Columbia Journal of Transnational, (1987), Vol. 25:3, pp. 197-204.

IV. Awards and Visiting Appointments

    • The United Methodist Church Emory University Scholar Teacher Award 2014.
    • Visiting Professor, Department of History and Political Science, Libera Universita Internationale delgi Studi Sociali (LUISS), viale Pola 12, Roma, Italy, May 16th to June 14th, 2012.
    • The James Weldon Johnson Medal for 2011 for Human Rights, The James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA, November 8th,2011.
    • Journal of Law and Religion Lifetime Achievement Award, Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, MN, USA, September 23th, 2011.
    • Shaykh Zayid Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, December 7th-17th, 2009.
    • Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., USA, September to December, 2009.
    • Honorary Doctorate, Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve) and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven, Leuven), Belgium, February 2nd, 2009.
    • J. Wiarda Chair, Utrecht University Institute for Legal Studies, Utrecht, Netherlands, September 2005 to August 2006.
    • Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Visiting Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA, January to June 2003.
    • Cecil G. Sheps Visiting Scholar in Social Justice, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA, March 26th-30th. 2004.
    • Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Political Science, American University, Cairo, Egypt, May 12th-19th. 2002.
    • Visiting Professor, Humanities Center, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, May 20th-30th, 2002.
    • Recipient of the 1999 Dr. J. P. van Praag Award of the Dutch Humanist Ethical Society for promoting the protection of Human Rights, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 12th, 1999.
    • Visiting Professor, School of Human Rights Law, Faculty of Law, Utrecht University, Netherlands, May 1st to July 31st, 1999.
    • Extraordinary Professor, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, Petoria, South Africa, January 2009 to November 2009.
    • Global Legal Scholar, School of Law, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, September 2007 to November 2009. 
    • Scholar-in-Residence, the Ford Foundation, New York, NY, USA, May to December 2007.
    • G.J. Wiarda Chair, Utrecht University Institute for Legal Studies, Utrecht, Netherlands, September 2005 to August 2006.
    • Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Visiting Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA, January to June 2003.
    • Cecil G. Sheps Visiting Scholar in Social Justice, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA, March 26th-30th. 2004.
    • Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Political Science, American University, Cairo, Egypt, May 12th-19th. 2002.
    • Visiting Professor, Humanities Center, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, May 20th-30th, 2002.
    • Recipient of the 1999 Dr. J. P. van Praag Award of the Dutch Humanist Ethical Society for promoting the protection of Human Rights, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 12th, 1999.
    • Visiting Professor, School of Human Rights Law, Faculty of Law, Utrecht University, Netherlands, May 1st to July 31st, 1999.
    • Visiting Scholar, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University for “Conversation on Fundamentalism and Human Rights on the l0th Anniversary of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflict,” Syracuse, NY, USA, January 23th-24th, 1997.

V. Named Lectures and Keynote Presentations

  • Keynote Conference Opening Session, “Sacred Protest: Religion, Power and Resistance of Evil in an Era of Upheaval,” European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies ESITIS2022) Conference, Bonn, Germany, 23 March 2022.
  • Keynote presentation, “The Politics of Rights in a World of Wrongs: Making Rights Relevant,” Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, April 5, 2018.
  • Keynote Address, “Dialectic of Civil Rights and Human Rights in International Law and Domestic Law and Policy of the USA: Perspective of an African American Muslim, 36th Annual Course on International Law and Legal Information, International Association of Law Libraries, Emory Conference Center Hotel, Atlanta, GA, October 25, 2017.
  • Keynote presentation, “Religious Freedom and the Universality of Human Rights: A Modernist Islamic Perspective,” Conference on Justice and Social Concerns, St. Mary University, San Antonio, TX, September 27, 2017.
  • Keynote Lecture, “The Synergy of Discourse and Action for Peace: An Islamic Perspective,” Islamic Peace Studies Inaugural Conference, Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, March 16, 2017.
  • Keynote Address, “Dialectic of Islamic Umma and the Nation State: The Power of Ambiguous Myths, Boston College, Boston, MA, March 3, 2017.
  • Keynote presentation, “The Intellectual Anchor of Communal Practice of Muslims: Then and Now,” International Conference on Islam and the Role of Intellect, Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation, Seville, Spain, September 29, 2016.
  • Keynote speaker: “The Future of Heritage and Social Development in Africa,” International Conference, Religious Pluralism and Heritage: Legal and Social Development, Organized by the College of Law and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; The International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States; and the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 22-24 May 2016.
  • Montesquieu Lecture, “The Spirit of Laws is not Universal: Alternatives to the Enforcement Paradigm for Human Rights,” Tilburg University School of Law, the Netherlands, March 9, 2016.
  • Keynote speaker, “Islam, the secular state and human rights: civic reason in debating the death penalty,” 3rd Oslo International Symposium on Capital Punishment, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway, 6-8 December 2015.
  • Keynote Speaker, “Islam, Constitutionalism and Human Rights,” Integrated Graduate Program in International Studies and Transnational Governance, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy, May 25, 2015.
  • Keynote address, “What is a European Muslim? Thoughts on faith and civil rights,” Islamic Life and Thought in Immigration Societies, Berlin Forum for Muslim Thinking, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, October 8, 2014.
  • Annual Ibrahim Abu-Rabi Memorial Lecture, “The Roots of ISIS and its Humane Alternative,” International Council for Middle East Studies (ICMES), Washington, D.C., September 30, 2015.
  • Keynote address, “Legal Research, Sudan and the Durham Archive,” University of Durham, UK, December 16, 2013.
  • Keynote, “Constitutions and Cultural Pluralism,” Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life, Columbia University, December 13, 2013.
  • Keynote address, “Peace within for Peace without: We can’t give what we don’t have,” Peace Building: The Civil Society Contribution: An International Symposium to Jumpstart the Edinburgh Peace Initiative, The City Chambers, Edinburgh, UK, October 20, 2012.
  • The John Humphrey Lecture, “The Ends and Means of Human Rights: From State-Centric to People-Centered,” McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, October 11th, 2012.
  • Keynote address, “Sharia, Human Rights, Universality and Sovereignty,” International Conference Global Justice: Principles and Applications,” LUIS, viale Romania, Rome, Italy, 7-8 June, 2012.
  • Keynote, “A Democratic State Cannot be Islamic,” Social Justice in Egypt: Theory, Research, Practice,” American University in Cairo, May 3, 2011.
  • Keynote, “Sharia, State Law and Freedom of Religion in Oklahoma,” Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Oklahoma City, OK, March 26, 2011.
  • Keynote, “For Sustainable Peace: From Religious Responsibility to Legal Accountability”, Regional Conference, Peacekeeping in West Africa: Faith Communities and their Role in Conflict,” Freetown, Sierra Leone, December 12, 2010.
  • Keynote, “Islamic Law and Secular Societies,” International Summer School, Rethinking Rights in a Plural Society,” Alta Scuola Societa Economia Teologia, Venice, Italy, September 9, 2010.
  • Keynote, “Sharia, National Law, Rule of Law and Human Rights,” Conference on Sharia Incorporated: Legal Systems in the Muslim World – Recent Development, Center for the Study of Islam and Society, Leiden University, the Netherlands, June 24, 2010.
  • The Robert H. Litowitz Lecture, “Islam and the Secular State as Framework for Constant Contestation, Not a Claim of Categorical Resolution,” Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA, April 29th, 2010.
  • Tanner Lectures on Human Values, “Transcending Imperialism: Human Values and Global Citizenship,” University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, March 9th-11th, 2010.
  • Chorley Lecture 2009, “The Compatibility of Islamic Law and State Law”, London School of Economics, London, UK, June 10th, 2009.
  • Keynote presentation, “Promoting Pluralism through Civic Reason? Rethinking Secularism, Humanist University, Kosmoplis Institute, HIVOS, Utrecht, the Netherlands, May 25-26, 2009.
  • Third Carl Heinrich Becker Lecture, “Sharia and the Secular State in the Middle East and Europe,” Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany, May 19th, 2009.
  • Keynote presentation, “Religion and its Ethical Impacts in a Globalized World,” Tonissteiner Kreis, Harnack-House, Berlin, Germany, January 24, 2009.
  • Keynote presentation, “African Solidarity and Human Rights: True, False and Irresponsible,” 60th Anniversary Celebration, Program of African Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, Oct. 24, 2008.
  • Keynote presentation, “The Religious Foundations of Secularism: Paradox of Separation and Connection”, conference on Exploring the Intersections of Religion and Governance: Past, Present, and Future,” American University Washington College of Law, Washington DC, October 10, 2008.

VI. Public Lectures, Presentations, etc.

International
  • Ibn Rushd Lecture, “Islam, Human Rights and the Secular State: Mediation of Paradox in Neo-colonial Context,” via Zoom, Ibn Rushd Fund, at 7:00 pm 9cest), on October 22, 2021.
  • Public lecture, “Decolonizing Human Rights: An Urgent Plea for Rebuttal,” Master’s Program in International Human Rights Law, New College, Oxford University, Manor Road Building Lecture Theatre, Oxford, UK, July 20, 2017.
  • Public Lecture, “Islamic Fundamentalism and Social Change” at Olive Tree Hotel, Bukit Jambul, Penang, 3 June 2016.
  • Public Lecture, “Toward an Islamic Society, NOT an Islamic State,” Wawasan Open University, Penang, Malaysia, 2 June 2016.
  • Lecture, “Are Human Rights Compatible with Islam?” IKMAS, National University of Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia 31 May, 2016.
  • Public Lecture at Sunway University: “Islam and the Secular State,” Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, 30 May, 2016
  • Roundtable discussion, “Debating the role of Shari‘a in Human Rights’ Discourse,” Conference Room, Nottingham University, Malaysia Campus, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia, 29 May, 2016.
  • Roundtable Discussion, “Rethinking Islamic Reform,” Faculty of Law Faculty, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 28 May 2016.
  • Public Lecture, “Indigenous Resources for Peace-Building in Sudan: Concepts and Methodology,” Center for Peace and Development Studies, Bahri University, Sudan, May 14, 2016.
  • Conference presentation, “How to Reform a Comprehensive Global Normative System?” International Conference on the Reform of Islamic Law, University of Tubingen, Germany, October 10, 2015.
  • Public Lecture, “Islam and Human Rights? Reframing the Question on Both Sides of the Issue,” Post Graduate Program in Islamic Theology, University of Tubingen, Germany, October 9, 2015.
  • Public Lecture, “Sudan Constitution in Process,” Sudan Lawyers’ Union, Khartoum, Sudan, December 17, 2014.
  • Public Lecture, “Cultural Rights in a Multi-cultural Society, Distinction Center, DAL Group, Khartoum North, Sudan, December 12, 2014.
  • Public Lecture, “Islam in the 21st Century: The Interdependence of Modernity and Tradition,” Khartoum International Community School, Khartoum, Sudan, December 9, 2014
  • Public Lecture, “Mediation of the Secular and Religious: An Islamic Perspective,” Katholische Akademie (Catholic Academy) Berlin, Germany, October 7, 2014.
  • Public lecture, “The Irrelevance and Relevance of Sharia to Human Rights,” Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University; and the Centre for International Governance Innovation Waterloo, ON, Canada, September 15, 2014,
  • Paper, “Islam and Religious Pluralism: it is Normative not Legal?” International Conference on Legal Pluralism, Accademia delle scienze, Sala dei Mappamondi, Via Accademia delle scienze 6, Torino, Italy, 11-13 September 2014.
  • Paper, “International Religious Freedom at Home in Secular Legal Context,” Conference International Religious Freedom and the Global Clash of Values, Sr. Johns University/LUMSA, Rome, Italy, June 21, 2014.
  • Presentation, “Relevance and Meaning of a Public/Private Dichotomy in an Islamic Perspective,” International Conference, Arab Spring: Event or Memory?, Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco, May 29-30, 2014.
  • Presentation, “Questioning Founding Assumptions: What Does “Rights” in Human Rights Mean?” 4th International Conference on Human Rights Education – Soochow University Taipei, Taiwan, Nov 24, 2013.
  • Lecture, “The Contingent Role of Islam in Political Legitimacy,” Istanbul Seminar 2013, Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey, May 20th, 2013.
  • Public Lecture, “Islam and the Secular State: The Case of Sudan,” Sudanese Lawyers Association, Doha, Qatar, May 17th, 2013.
  • Public Lecture, “Constitution-Making in North Africa,” College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, May 12th, 2013.
  • Lecture, “Breaking the Cycle of Dependency and Resentment,” International Congress of Intercultural Philosophy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, May 9th, 2013.
  • Speaker, “Global Conference on Human Rights, Democracy and the Fragility of Freedom,” McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, March 21st-23rd, 2013.
  • Public Lecture, “American Muslims and Religious Self-Determination,” Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Laws (CIMEL), School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, London, UK, February1st, 2013.
  • Panellist, “Towards a Secular Islamic State,” Muslim Institute, London, UK, December 12, 2012.
  • Paper presentation, “Toward an Islamic Reformation: Twenty Years Later,” International Conference on Human Rights Education, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, December 10, 2012.
  • Paper presentation, “Explaining and defending the idea of “civic reason and civic reasoning”: Why state regulation of political discourse is required in multi-religious societies,” Group Autonomy and its Critics, International Conference, Norwegian Institute for Human Rights, Oslo, Norway, December 9, 2012.
  • Panelist, The challenge of religious diversity in Europe, Secularism and Religious Diversity in Europe, RELIGARE Conference, Albert Borschette, 36, Rue Froissart, Brussels, Belgium, December 5th, 2012.
  • Public lecture, “Sharia and the Civil State,” Aljahedh Forum ( الجاحظ منتدى), Tunis, Tunisia, June 9th, 2012.
  • Public lecture, “Islam, Sharica and Democratic Transformation in the Arab World,” International Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Education & Institute Tevere Centro Pro Dialogo, Rome, Italy, May 24th, 2012.
  • Presentation, Islamic Reformation and the “Arab Spring”: Challenges and Opportunities, International Conference, The Arab Spring and the Use of Force in International Relations, Universidade Do Minho, Braga, Portugal, Dec. 9, 2011.
  • Lecture, “Human Rights, Universality and Sovereignty: The Relevance and Irrelevance of Sharia,” Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada, Oct. 3, 2011.
  • Lecture, “Difference, Globalization and the Limits of Secularization,” University of Alberta, Department of Political Science, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Sept 29, 2011
  • Lecture, “Human Rights, Universality and Sovereignty: The Relevance and Irrelevance of Sharia,” Center for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Sept 27, 2011
  • Lecture, “Mutual Mediation of Paradox: Human Rights and the Cosmopolitan Idea(l),” Venice Academy of Human Rights, European International University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization, Venice, Italy, July 14, 2011.
  • Paper, “The Cross-Cultural Coherence of Intellectual History: The Case of the Second Message of Islam from Sudan,” at Conceptual History and Global Translations: The Euro-Asian and African Semantics of the Social and the Economic, University of Helsinki, Finland, May 27, 2011.
  • Paper, “Coping with Shared Human Vulnerabilities:  The Cultural Mediation of Resentment and Retaliation,” Istanbul Seminars 2011: Overcoming the Trap of Resentment, Istanbul Bilgi University – Santral Campus, Turkey, May 19, 2011.
  • “Experiences in Freedom of Religion in the African Context,” The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Vatican City, April 30, 2011.
  • Public Lecture, “Normative Pluralism and State Legal Systems,” University of Warwick Law School, UK., October 19, 2010
  • Seminar, “Contemporary Islamic Thought on Islam, Democracy and Human Rights,” IAIN (State Institute of Islamic Studies) Sunan Ampel Surabaya, Indonesia, July 15, 2010.
  • Presentation, “Islam and Human Rights: Framing and Reframing the Inquiry”, International Conference, Human Rights Today: Foundations and Politics, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany, June 18, 2010.
  • Public lecture, “Can Islamic Law be Reformed? How is the Question Relevant?”, American University of Beirut, December 15, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Negotiating the Future of Sharia in the Secular State,” American University of Beirut, December 8th, 2009.
  • Presentation, “Universality of Human Rights,” Conference on the Universality of Human Rights in a Changing World, The Advisory Council on International Affairs on the Netherlands, The Hague, Senate Building, December 3rd, 2009.
  • Panel presentation, “Normative and Legal Pluralism and the Limitations of ‘access to justice’ paradigm,” Beyond Apology and Utopia: Critical Engagements with Good Governance in the Arab World, University of Windsor, Canada, October 23, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Sharia,” University of Winsor, Canada, October 22, 2009.
  • Paper presentation, “The Compatibility Dialectic: Mediating the legitimate coexistence of Islamic Law and State Law, Re-imagining the Sharia: Theory, Practice and Muslim Pluralism at Large, Warwick University School of Law, Warwick in Venice, Italy, September 14, 2009.
  • “Islamic Law and The Secular State”, Committee Room 16, House of Commons, UK Parliament, Ian Stewart MP and the Henry Jackson Society, June 3, 2009.
  • “Muslims in the USA: A Case Study”, at Muslims of the West: Negotiating Citizenship, International Workshop at the University of Warwick School of Law, UK, June 29-30, 2009.
  • Public Debate, “Why Muslims Need a Secular State and Western Politics should not Interfere,” Kosmoplis Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands, May 25, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Islam and the Secular State: Implications for Christian-Muslim Relations”, PISAI Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome, Italy, May 22, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “European Muslims and the Secular State: Mediation of Citizenship and Identity”, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium, January 30, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Islamic Law in a Secular State: Beyond Reluctant Accommodation,” Warwick University, Coventry, UK, November 26, 2008.
  • Conference presentation, “Islamic Imperative of a Secular State: Implications for European Muslims,” International conference, Secularisation and Secularism, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, October 20, 2008.
  • Public lecture, “Islam, Human Rights and the Secular State,” Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada, October 2, 2008.
  • Conference presentation, “Universality of Human Rights: Mediating Paradox to Enhance Practice,” international conference ,“Universal Declaration – 60 Years After”, Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, Serbia, September 27-28, 2008.
  • Lecture, “Is the State Always Secular? Can it be Secular Enough?”, international seminar, “Secular States and Religious Societies: Middle East, Mexico, and India,” El Colegio de Mexico, Centro de Estudios de Asia y Africa, Mexico City, Mexico, September 4-5, 2008.
  • Panelist, “The Decline of Secularism in Egypt”, Workshop, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 13-15 Aug. 2008.
  • Paper presentation, “The State Cannot be Islamic, What does being Secular Mean?”, Conference on Religion, Secularism and Democracy: The History and Politics of Secularisms of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, Arizona State University, Istanbul, Turkey, July 6-9, 2008.
  • Speaker, “Southern Voices” symposium, Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, 25-26 June, 2008.
  • Public discussion, “Islam in English Law: Can Moral or Religious Obligation ever justify the use of force inadmissible under Secular Law?” Temple Church, London, UK., May 19, 2008.
  • Public lecture, “Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari`a”, Simon-Dubnow-Institute, Leipzig University, Germany, May 15, 2008.
USA
  • Panel Presentation, “Secular and Religious Fundamentalism in the Human Rights Discourse,” The Center for International Human Rights, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, online on Thursday, May 5, 2022.
  • The Orr Lecture, “The Islamic State is a Post-colonial Mirage,” Department of Religion, Dartmouth College, May 12, 2022.
  • Panel Presentation: “Sharia, Human Rights, and the Secular State,” online Conference on The Islamic Case for Liberty, Acton Institute, Acton University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA May 24, 2022.
  • Public Lecture, “Islamic Diversity or Pluralism: Does Theology Lead or Follow?” Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA, October 30, 2017.
  • Emory University Board of Visitors, 2016-2017, “Islam and the Secular State: Why and How is the Issue Relevant Today?” the Miller-Ward Alumni House, Emory University, January 31, 2017.
  • Public Lecture, “Islam and Secularism: What is an American Muslim?” Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster PA, September 21, 2016.
  • Panel, “Constructive Management of Diversity: A Strategy for Preventing Genocide and Mass Atrocities,” Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union, New York, December 12, 2015.
  • Panel, “Cooperation between Faith Based Organizations in Promoting Freedom of Religion and Belief,” German Commission of Justice and Peace, a side-event to the UN General Assembly, New York, October 22nd 2015.
  • Public Lecture, “Sudan: Learning from 30 Years of Islamist Revolution, Rule, and Reform,” Middle East Initiative, Belfeer Center, Harvard Kennedy School, April 27, 2015
  • Public lecture, “American Culture(s) of Ramadan: To Invent or Recover?” Religion Program, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY, July 8, 2014.
  • Paper Presentation, “Mediation of Difference and Adjudication of Claims: How to Draw the Line,” Conference on Religious Heterodoxy and Modern States, Department  of Sociology, Yale University, March 28, 2014.
  • Seminar, “Muslims and the Secular State: The View from Practice,” Institute for Comparative Modernities, Cornell University, March 13, 2014.
  • Public Lecture, “American Muslims of Imagined and Re-Imagined Communities,” the Institute for Comparative Modernities and the Clarke Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, March 12, 2014.
  • Paper presentation, “Religion and Human Rights: Shifting Both Paradigms,” Symposium, Rights and Religion: A Movement Breaking, the Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY, November 15, 2013.
  • Panelist, “Two Years into the Arab Spring: Islam, Elections & Democratic Transformation,” The International Foundation for Electoral Systems and International Council for Middle East Studies, Washington, D.C., April 4th, 2013.
  • Mellon Sawyer Seminar, “Beyond Minority Politics: American Muslims and Citizenship,” The Graduate Center, City University of New York, November 15, 2012.
  • Public Lecture, “American Muslims and Citizenship: Beyond Minority Politics,” Middle East Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 8, 2012.
  • Public Lecture, “Islam, Sharia and Democracy,” Furman University, Greenville, SC, November 1st, 2012.
  • Public Lecture, “The Quran and Islamic Law,” College of Arts and Sciences and School of Law, University of Notre Dame, September 30, 2012
  • Paper presentation, “The Ends and Means of the Common Good: The Challenges of Imperialism and Religion,” Expert Meeting, Globalization and the Common Good, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, April 19-21, 2011.
  • Panel presentation, “Human Rights and Political Change in the Arab World,” Robert L. Bernstein Human Rights Symposium, Yale Law School, March 29-30, 2012
  • Lecture, “Religion and the ‘Nationalism’ in Internationalism,” Cogut Center for the Humanities, Brown University, Providence, RI, March 13, 2012
  • Plenary address, “Banning Sharia is a ‘Red Herring’: The Way Forward for all Americans,” International Conference on Invisible Constitutions: Culture, Religion and Memory,” St. Louis University School of Law and Center for Intercultural Studies, St. Louis, MO, March 2nd, 2012.
  • Plenary address, “Complementary not Competing Claims of Law and Religion: an Islamic Perspective,” at Conference on the Competing Claims of Law and Religion, Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, CA, Feb. 24, 2012.
  • Public Lecture, “Islam, Sharia, and Democratic Transformation in the Arab World, Middle Eastern Studies, Boston College, Boston, MA, Feb. 15, 2012. 
  • Public lecture, “Human Rights, Universality and Sovereignty: The Relevance and Irrelevance of Islamic Law,” Washington and Lee University School of Law and the Transnational Law Institute, April 8, 2011.
  • Speaker, “Renewing Moral Norms,” Of Heaven and Earth: Religion, Belief and Women’s Rights, The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA, April 3, 2011.
  • The 2011 Dale Somers Memorial Lecture, “Human Rights in Africa: The Post-colonial and Post-Post-Colonial.”, Georgia State University, April 1, 2011.
  • Presentation, “Tolerance and Freedom: Sustainability of Toleration in Public Discourse,” Conference on Toleration and Freedom: The American Experience in Context, Institute for Philosophy & Religion, Boston University, Boston, MA, March 25, 2011
  • Lecture, “Beyond Minority Politics: American Muslims and Citizenship,” Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, Boston University, Boston, MA, March 24, 2011.
  • Public lecture, “Human Rights, Universality and Sovereignty in African and Islamic Perspectives,”, Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX, March 19, 2011.
  • Public lecture, “American Muslims and Citizenship,” The Boulder Public Library, Boulder, CO, March 4th, 2011.
  • Presentation, “Human Rights, Universality and Sovereignty: The Relevance and Irrelevance of Shari’a”, Conference on Human Rights in Islam: The Politics of Cultural Transformation,” Duke University, Durham, NC, Feb. 24th, 2011.
  • The Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights, “Polygamy and Gender Justice in the 21st Century: Reflections on Basic Principles,” Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law Project, Brandeis University, November 7th, 2010
  • Plenary Panel speaker, “Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion,”  The XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law, Georgetown Law Center, Washington DC, July 29th, 2010.
  • Panel speaker, “Association of American Law Schools Section on Comparative Law – A Dialogue on Comparative Law in the Curriculum,” The XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Washington DC, July 26th, 2010.
  • Lecture, “Islam, Modernity and Freedom: Mediating Competing Claims of Freedoms of Speech and Religion,” Building Bridges Seminar: Christian and Muslim Perspectives on Tradition and Modernity, Georgetown University, Washington DC, May 25th, 2010.
  • Lecture, “The Idea of Cosmopolitanism and Religion,” New York University Abu Dhabi, at New York University, April 14th, 2010.
  • Public lecture, “The Compatibility of Islamic Law and State Law,” Duke Islamic Studies Center and the Center for International and Comparative Law, Duke Law School, April 7, 2010.
  • Public lecture, “Feed the Donkey First: Freedom of Religion and the Geopolitics of Human Rights,” Hudson Institute, the Center for Religious Freedom, Washington DC, November 12, 2009.
  • Conversation with Patrick Weil, “Secularism and Liberty of Conscience,” The Center for the Humanities, The Graduate Center, CUNY, October1st, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Re-imagining International Law for a New Politics of Human Rights,” University of California, Santa Barbara, May 14, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Re-imagining International Law for a New Politics of Human Rights,” Center for Near Eastern Studies, UCLA, May 13, 2009.
  • The Margolis Lecture, “Faith in Peace: the ICC and the Dar Fur Crisis”, The Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, University of California, Irvine, CA, May 12, 2009.
  • Public lecture, “Re-imagining International Law Law for a New Politics of Human Rights”, The Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, University of California, Irvine, CA, May 11, 2009
  • Presentation, “The Interdependence of the Religious and Secular: The Religious Fallacy of Fundamentalism,” International Workshop on Retreat of the Secular? Challenges of Religious Fundamentalism, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 1-3, 2009
  • Public lecture, “Islam, the State, and Human Rights: Refining the Terms of Inquiry,” Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Santa Clara University, San Jose, CA, April 22, 2009.
  • Second Annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture on Religion and Public Life, “Muslims and the Secular State: Dynamics of Majority/Minority Situations,” Department of Religious Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, MO, April 20, 2009.
  • Paper presentation, “Religion, the State, and Constitutionalism in Islamic and Comparative Perspectives,” 2009 Symposium of Constitutional Law Center, Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa, April 4, 2009.
  • 9th Annual Prophetic Voices Lecture, “American Secularism for American Muslims: Challenges and Prospects”, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College, Boston, November 13, 2008.
  • Public lecture, “Islam and Human Rights at the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration,” Rosenfield Program, Grinnell College, Iowa, USA, September 18, 2008.
  • Public lecture, “Imagining and Realizing Progressive Islam A Framework and Call for Action,” Ohio University, Athens, OH, May 27, 2008.
  • Panels, “The Fundamentals: Defining and Human Rights”, and “A Paradigm Revisited: 60 Years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: How would you (Re)write it Now?”, Conference on Reporting Global Conflict: Uncovering the Link between Religion and Human Rights,” Nieman Foundation for Journalism,” Harvard University, May 9-10, 2008.
  • Public lecture, “Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari`a”, African and Afro-American Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, April 18, 2008.
  • Symposium panel, “Religion – State Relations”, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY, March 25, 2008.
  • “Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari`a”, Islam in the West Lecture Series, Near Eastern Studies, Harvard University, March 13, 2008.

VII. Grants and Fellowships

May 2009 to April 2011: Grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, for project, “Enhancing Citizenship: American Muslims and American Secularism.”

February to December 2008:  Grant from the Ford Foundation for promotional activities of the book, Islam and the Secular State(Harvard University Press, 2008).

January 2006 to December 2007:  Grant from the Ford Foundation for the Translation and Dissemination of the Future of Shari`a, book manuscript.

January 2004 to December 2005:  Grant from the Ford Foundation for a study on the Future of Shari`a in present Islamic societies (Islam, State and Society).

August 2002 to July 2003:  Grant from the Ford Foundation for a conceptual (theological, legal) study of Philanthropy for Social Justice in Muslim Societies.

January 2002-January 2003:  Grant from the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion at Emory University School of Law to study Inter-Religious Marriage in Four Cities (Bombay, Dakar, Istanbul, and Lagos).

June 2001-December 2004:  Grant from the Ford Foundation (to the Law and Religion Program of Emory University) for Fellowship Program in Islam and Human Rights. Activities include training ten scholars/advocates in the theory and practice of Human Rights Advocacy within Islamic Societies and Communities, convening a Workshop on Islam and Human Rights in Istanbul, Turkey, in May 2004, and establishing and maintaining a Database on Islam and Human Rights for global internet access.

Oct. 1999-Sept. 2002:  Grant from the Ford Foundation (to the Law and Religion Program of Emory University) for continuation of Women and Land in Africa project (below), for additional studies in Mozambique and Rwanda, and implementing an advocacy program in Ethiopia, in addition to global publicity for all the activities of this project.

Sept. 1998-August 2000:  Grant from the Ford Foundation (to the Law and Religion Program of Emory University) for global study of the Practice and Adaptation of Islamic Family Law throughout the World, with pilot country studies in Egypt, Palestine, and USA.

March 1996-August 1998:  Grant from the Ford Foundation (to the Law and Religion Program of Emory University) for project on Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa, focusing on the Impact of Culture (including Religious and Customary Law) on Women Access to Controlling Land in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda. The project also co-organized two workshops, one at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, March 11th -13th, 1997, and the second in Entebbe, Uganda, April 23th -27th, 1998.

April-August 1995:  Individual Research Grant, American Council on Learned Societies research for a book on Constitutionalism in Africa.

January-April 1991:  Visiting Fellowship, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA, worked on a research project about Human Rights in the Muslim World, with special emphasis on Algeria, Egypt and Pakistan.

April 1990-July 1991:  Individual Research Grant, the Ford Foundation for research on Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives, with special reference to Islamic Societies.

August 1987-June 1988:  Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. under a Research and Writing Grant from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and a Fellowship from the Wilson Center.

April-June 1985:  Individual Grant from the Ford Foundation, Khartoum, Sudan, for research on Islam and Human Rights.

Sept. 1981-June 1982:  Rockefeller Fellowship, Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA.

VIII. Editorial Positions

– 2016 – present, Associate Editor, the Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies (JIMS).

– 2013 – present, Member of the Editorial Board, The Journal of African Law (University of London).

– 2012 – present, Member of Board of Editors, Transnational Legal Theory, A Quarterly Journal, (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group).

– 2007 – present, International Advisory Board, The International Journal of Transitional Justice, (Oxford University Press).

– 2006 – present, Editorial Council, Theology Today, (Princeton Theological Seminary).

– 2006 – present, Advisory Board, Religion and Human Rights, (Martinus Nijhoff/Brill).

– 2006 – present, Advisory Board, Human Rights and International Legal Discourse (Intersentia).

– 2000 – present, Editorial Advisory Board, Human Rights Law Review, (University of Nottingham/OUP).

– 1998 – 2004, International Advisory Board, International Politics, (Kluwer Law International).

– 1995 – present, Advisory Editorial Board, Human Rights Quarterly, (The Johns Hopkins University Press).

– 1995 – 2000, Co-editor, Rwaq Arabi, (Journal of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies)

IX. Professional Memberships

– 2014 – present, Member of Editorial Board, Stanford Studies in Human Rights

– 2013 – 2015, Member of the Board, Universal Rights Group, Versoix Switzerland.

– 2009 – 2011, Member of the Board, Global Rights, Partners for Justice, Washington, D.C.,  USA.

– 2003 – 2013, Commissioner, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, Switzerland.

– 1997 – 2001, Member of the Board of Trustees, the Population Council, New York, NY, USA

– 1997 – 2002, Member of the Board, Institute for Human Rights and Development, the Gambia

– 1997 – 2000, Member of the International Council on Human Rights Policy, Geneva, Switzerland (member of Founding Board of the Council, 1995-1997).

– 1997 – 2002, International Advisory Council of the International Center for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (Interights), London, UK.

– 1996 – 1999, International Advisory Council, AFRONET (Inter-African Network for Human Rights & Development), Lusaka, Zambia.

– 1995 – 2001, Board of Trustees of RAINBO (Research, Action & Information Network for Bodily Integrity of Women), New York, NY, USA.

– 1995 – present, Board of Trustees of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Egypt.

– 1995 – present, Advisory Board, Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights, College of Law, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

– 1986 – 1999, International Third World Legal Studies Association, New York, NY, USA. Vice President, 1989-90. President 1990-1998.

September 2022