Muslim Modernism, Islamic Law, and the Universality of Human Rights

I first encountered Professor An-Na’im’s work quite serendipitously as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. At that time, I had not yet begun my legal studies and was early in my graduate student days at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. While browsing the stacks of the Regenstein Library, my eyes fell upon Professor An-Na’im’s book, Toward an Islamic Reformation. Although the book was not particularly relevant to my coursework at the time, its title intrigued me and I checked it out and read it quickly alongside my other assignments.

At that time, I thought the work was interesting but I did not give it too much heed. Little did I know that, upon becoming a legal academic with more than a passing interest in Islamic and human rights law, I would have occasion to engage with Professor An-Na’im’s rich body of scholarship repeatedly.