New York Law School Presents Symposium on Sharia in America

New York, NY (August 16, 2011)—The New York Law School Law Review, the Center for International Law at New York Law School, and the Muslim Bar Association of New York (MUBANY) will bring together legal experts to discuss the place of Islamic law in the United States today and in the future at a symposium, “Sharia in America: Principles and Prospects.” The conference will take place on Thursday, August 25, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., and Friday, August 26, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at New York Law School, located at 185 West Broadway.

“This conference presents a unique and timely offering of real experts on Islamic law—in the midst of so much demagoguery and misinformation—to give facts, dispel myths, and answer the public’s questions about ‘Sharia in America,’” Sadiq Reza, Professor at New York Law School and conference organizer, said.

The symposium—featuring commentary by leading authorities in Islamic, American, and Jewish law—will address the realities, possibilities, and problems of Islamic law, or “Sharia,” in American courts and American life in light of recent attention, misinformation, and hyperbole in the media. Speakers will address how recent Sharia bans at the state level inflame negative views of Muslim Americans and pose risks to the equal protection of Muslims as well as to U.S. national security. They will also discuss where Islamic law exists (or does not exist) in American courts in comparison to Jewish law, and what that means for legal practitioners. The conference is aimed at disseminating accurate information to and fostering informed discussion among policy makers, the media, legal practitioners. Papers will be published in a forthcoming issue of the New York Law School Law Review.

“The Sharia in America symposium presents an opportunity to foster dialogue on an important and provocative subject that is gaining attention not only within the legal academy, but among policy makers, the media, and the general public,” Marcey Grigsby ’06, Faculty Publisher of the Law Review, said. “The Law Review is excited to provide a forum, both at the live event and later in print and online, to explore the important legal and other issues at stake.”

A C.V. Starr Lecture will take place on Thursday night featuring Professor Frank Vogel, hosted by the Center for International Law. For more information about the lecture on Thursday, August 25, visit the Center for International Law. During the main conference on Friday, each speaker will present for 30 minutes and then answer questions from fellow speakers and audience members for another 30 minutes. A plenary discussion with a Q&A session will close the day’s program.

Speakers include distinguished legal scholars and practitioners:
• Michael Broyde, Professor at Emory University School of Law, Jewish Law
• Sherman Jackson, Professor at the University of Michigan School of Law, Constitutional Law
• Asifa Quraishi, Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Family Law
• Sadiq Reza, Professor at New York Law School, Criminal Law
• Kristen Stilt, Professor at Northwestern University School of Law, Constitutional Law
• Frank Vogel, Professor at Harvard Law School, Islamic Finance

For more information about the symposium, visit www.nylslawreview.com/sharia. Free registration is required. CLE credits will be available for $50 (free for NYLS alumni and members of MUBANY). A prayer room will be made available for attendees on Friday. Members of the media may RSVP to LaToya Jordan at latoya.jordan@nyls.edu or 212.431.2191

About the New York Law School Law Review
The New York Law School Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship edited and published by students at New York Law School four times a year. The Law Review is the largest law review in the United States, with 2011–2012 membership of more than 185 students, led by an editorial board assisted by staff editors, online staff editors, and members, working together with a full-time faculty publisher, to make all editorial and publication decisions. The Law Review has both a scholarly and an educational mission. It serves as an academic forum for legal scholarship by sponsoring four symposia each year and publishing the scholarship produced through those events. The Law Review also offers its students an important learning and professional development experience, providing opportunities for members to develop their writing, research, and editing skills, as well as other skills that are important for the successful practice of law, including communication, organizational, and project management skills. The Law Review is printed by Joe Christensen, Inc., in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Law Review’s editorial and general offices are located at New York Law School, 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013. Symposium proposals may be submitted to the Law Review by U.S. mail or via email at law_review@nyls.edu. Tel. 212-431-2109. www.nylslawreview.com

About New York Law School
Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, urban legal studies, international and comparative law, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. The School is noted for its nine academic centers: Center on Business Law & Policy, Center on Financial Services Law, Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Center for Real Estate Studies, Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families, Institute for Information Law & Policy, and Justice Action Center. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and currently enrolls some 1,500 full-time students and 430 part-time students in its J.D. program and its four advanced degree programs in financial services law, real estate, tax, and mental disability law studies. www.nyls.edu
 

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Press Contacts:

Nancy Guida, VP of Marketing and Communications
212.431.2325
nancy.guida@nyls.edu

LaToya Jordan, Assistant Director of Communications
212.431.2191
latoya.jordan@nyls.edu