Islamic Law

The SOAS MA in Islamic Law offers a world-leading specialisation in a rapidly developing area of law that has increasing significance in Muslim majority countries as well as in the lives of many Muslims living elsewhere.

The MA deals in depth with issues such as those relating to families, financial markets, philanthropy, inter-state and international relations and globalisation. It offers a platform for viewing and understanding different parts of the Muslim world from multifaceted and diverse perspectives.

Modules included in the programme investigate the meanings and applications of principles of Islamic law in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and transnationally.

They explore jurisprudence and methodologies, family law, criminal law and financial law, and consider critical areas of intersection with international human rights law. Law and society more generally is a focus for the region-specific modules, interrogating the place and role of law in and its relationship with society, including but not limited to issues of gender, colonialism, constitutional law and plural legal systems.

Why study MA Islamic Law at SOAS

• SOAS is ranked in the UK top 20 (QS World University Rankings 2023).
• We are ranked 6th in the UK for employability (QS World University Rankings 2023).
• Our research publications have been rated first in the UK - and our School of Law rated sixth in the UK - in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
• MA in Islamic law offers wide-ranging insights into the operation of norms and principles of Islamic law particularly in the global South and in its interaction with emerging international norms and regional mechanisms.
• Those who convene and teach these modules are acknowledged experts in their particular fields and usually also accomplished linguists. The teaching is thus closely informed and research-led, providing dynamic engagements in class on issues of immediate contemporary interest.
• Staff have years of experience advising governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, philanthropic foundations, law firms and financial institutions. Some have been or are legal practitioners in their specialised fields.
• Modules attract students from across SOAS as well as from the School of Law, leading to vibrant, cross-fertilising discussions and exchanges that often add unexpected value to the learning experience.

Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law

Islamic law occupies an important place in the SOAS School of Law, which is home to the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law. The Centre provides a focal point for research activities and regular events, and an opportunity for postgraduate students to become involved and engage with the SOAS research community and actors in the field.

In an increasingly small and interdependent world, CIMEL operates as a scholarly legal bridge for research and practice at the crossroad of Islam, the Middle East and the West.

Why you

The programme provides required expertise for anyone interested in pursuing a career in Islamic law or in law-related careers focused on Muslim majority countries or contexts. This expertise is much sought after in law, finance and media, international organisations and government.

Many students in the SOAS School of Law take at least one of the modules in this programme because of the way in which the substance of core modules engages with critical areas of law that are increasingly a focus of practitioners and policy makers.

The MA in Islamic Law offers a unique insight into the richness of the subject matter that will compel your attention to the complexities of historical and current interpretations, usages and repertoires of this most exciting set of laws, legal systems and legal processes.