Symposium: Islam, Family and Law in Contemporary Iraq

In light of the recent amendment to the Iraqi Civil Code, the Duke Islamic Studies Center is hosting a one-day online symposium titled "Islam, Family, and Law in Contemporary Iraq." This event will explore the background of the amendment and its current and future implications for family law, as well as the status of women in Iraq. The symposium will feature independent Iraqi Member of Parliament Sajjad Salim, alongside distinguished panels of prominent scholars in law, sociology, feminism, and culture from Iraq.

9:00 am | Welcome - Adam Mestyan, Director of Duke Islamic Studies Center (DISC)
9:10 - 9:20 Introduction and Opening remarks - Hanan Jasim Khammas, (DISC) Postdoc Associate

9:20 - 10:00 am | Session 1: The New legislation and Iraq's Law
Sajad Salim Hussein, Member of the Iraqi Parliament.

10:00 - 12:00 am | Session 2: The Islamization of the legal and political systems in Iraq

Haider Ala Hamoudi, Dean and Nippert Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law. "Uniformity and Pluralism in Iraqi Family Law: The Personal Status Code in Iraqi Courts from 1959 to the present day"

Faris Nadhmi Social Psychologist and writer, Salahaddin University-Erbil. "Islamization of Personal Status in Iraq: Masculine Dominance and Political Hegemony"

Asmaa Jamil Rashid, Co-founder of Center for Women's Studies, University of Baghdad. "Between Religious Identity and Civil Rights: The Dialectics of Personal Status Law in Iraq"

Ruba Ali Al-Hassani, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Lancaster University. "Iraq's Existential Race Against Proposed Amendments to its Personal Status Law"

Adam Mestyan (Chair)

12:00 - 13:00 Break

1:00 - 2:30 pm | Session 3: Women's Activism and family legal status in Iraq, past and present

Noga Efrati, Historian of Women in the Middle East, The Open University, Ra'anana. "Negotiating Rights: Women's Activists and Family Law in Iraq, A Historical Perspective"

Nadje Al-Ali: Anthropologist of the Middle East Studies, Brown University. "Contesting Gender in Post-Invasion Iraq: Backlash, Mobilization & Transnational Activism"

Ilham Makki Researcher and activist. "Islamic Traditions and Legal Reform Dynamics: Contemporary Challenges in Modern Iraq

Miriam Cooke (Chair)

2:30 - 2:45 pm Break

2:45 - 3:45 pm | Keynote: W(h)ither Iraq? Reflections and Questions | Sinan Antoon

Fadi Bardawil (Chair)

3:45 - 4:30 pm discussion & closing remarks