In the academic year 2024/25, this course will not be streamed.

Islamic and Jewish law both have a religious basis that originated a long time ago. Since then, they have had to be reinterpreted again and again to be applicable in the present. This is also true in different societal and cultural contexts because Muslims and Jews live in different parts of the world today, be it as a majority or as a minority.

This course aims to introduce the sources, the methods of interpretation and the important areas of regulation of the two religious rights. As with other religious rights, the focus is on family law; depending on the country, this stands (in Western states like Switzerland) alongside or (in the Near East) in place of national law. The course is also therefore also interested in legal pluralism between state and religious law. Experts in Islamic and Jewish law will be involved in the course, which will also include an excursion. Specific legal knowledge is not required.

Oral exam.

The aim of the course is to understand the internal norms and self-perception of two religious communities, as well as the state legal norms applicable to them; thereby, seeking possible solutions to current areas of conflict in society.

In addition to the materials on Moodle and the script, the following two books are recommended for the course:

Pahud de Mortanges/Bleisch Bouzar/Bollag/Tappenbeck, Religionsrecht, FVRR, Bd. 23, 2. Auflage, Zürich/Basel/Genf 2018.

Winzeler, Einführung in das Religionsverfassungsrecht, FVRR, Bd. 16, 2. Auflage, Zürich/Basel/Genf 2009. 

The course documents can be found on moodle.