Sharia Law, the State & Modernity’s Moral Predicament | Wael Hallaq

Renowned professor of ethics, law and political thought and leading scholar of Islamic Legal Studies, Dr Wael Hallaq, joins us on this episode of the afikra podcast to discuss Sharia law, the modern state, Legal Orientalism, and the idea of a "stateless" yet still orderly world.

Dr Hallaq deals with reductionist understandings of Sharia law, critiques modernism and the modern state, and breaks down the successes and shortcomings of Edward Said's Orientalism. We discuss the concept of Legal Orientalism, delve into the advanced complexities of Sharia law, and talk about his book "The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament". Finally, Dr Hallaq talks passionately about what he calls the "bankrupt realities" we're facing in the modern era and calls the very states and systems that make up our world into question.

0:00 Introduction
1:12 Most Common Misunderstandings of Sharia Law
7:27 Legal Orientalism
10:48 Different Versions of Sharia Law
20:18 The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament
30:55 Critiquing Edward Said
35:28 The Impossibility of Building an Islamic State
39:22 A Stateless Society
46:27 Corporations, the Modern State & Colonialism
50:03 Imagining a Corporation-less World
54:38 Warning Against Modernity
1:00:00 Reimagining Modernity, Legacy of Edward Said, and Liberalism

Wael B. Hallaq is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he has been teaching ethics, law, and political thought since 2009. He is considered a leading scholar of Islamic Legal Studies and Islamic Law. He has written several books including "The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament" and "Restating Orientalism: A Critique of Modern Knowledge".

Connect with Wael 👉https://mesaas.columbia.edu/faculty-d...

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?h...

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series:    • 🎙️ The afikra Podcast  

ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram:   / afikra_  
🔗 Facebook:   / afikra.official  
🔗 Twitter:   / afikra