Islamic Law

Profession

In the modern world, the role of Islamic law is growing; it is relevant not only in the countries of the Muslim world, but also far beyond its borders. In fact, since the 1990s the Russian legal system tends to refer to Islamic law institutions and attempts to introduce them into Russian legislation. An example of this is the laws of some republics of the North Caucasus, the initiatives of individual Muslim leaders. The expansion of areas of cooperation — economic, diplomatic, legal — with the states of the Muslim world ensures further strengthening of the position of Islamic law even in secular states; it predetermines the need of the legal labour market for highly qualified, competitive specialists with theoretical and applied knowledge and understanding the specifics of Islamic law and legal consciousness of its representatives. Competence in the theory of goals of Sharia and Islamic concepts of state power, understanding of the fundamental principles of operation of Islamic law as a system (independent or included in the dominant legal system), foundations for the protection of human rights and freedoms in Islam, as well as practical skills in the field of legal argumentation, applied sociology of law that undergraduates will acquire as part of this programme open up wide opportunities for professional and personal growth.

Educational Process

The academic studies within the programme Islamic Law are aimed at training lawyers who are able to analyze and propose solutions to the problems of political, social and cultural interaction together with the representatives of Islamic legal culture. It is achieved through the teaching of the courses that are related to the interaction of Islamic and European law.
A Master’s programme graduate will:
— acquire knowledge of the basics of Islamic law as a legal phenomenon, its special features as an independent legal system, master the mechanism of interaction of religious and legal principles in Islamic legal culture, get a general idea of the place of Islamic law in modern legal systems of Muslim and non-Muslim states;
— gain the skills to compare various conceptual approaches to the foundations of law and state, the institution of human rights and freedoms existing in Islamic theoretical and legal thought, will be able to navigate them, find the necessary information to formulate and express personal points of view during public discussions related to the problems of Islamic law, apply the knowledge gained during implementation of legal research;
— acquire the skills of a comprehensive legal analysis of the sources of Islamic law and legally significant cases related to the operation of the institutions of Islamic law and make independent conclusions and practical proposals to resolve the conflicts.
Disciplines: Islamic Law as a Legal System; the Theory of Aims in Sharia; Human Rights in Islam; Religious Issues in Legal Practice; Sharia Response to the Challenges of Modernity; Adat and Sharia in the Russian Legal System.

Practice

Students of the programme “Islamic Law” are involved in research and pedagogical and pre-diploma internship. As part of the scientific and pedagogical practice, master’s programme students gain experience in teaching legal disciplines.The main form of pre-diploma internship is research, during which Master’s programme students consolidate and deepen theoretical knowledge, master research methods in the field of law, publishing the results of their work in scientific articles and master’s theses, which are defended in Russian and foreign languages.Master’s degree students have the opportunity to do an internship at the International Islamic Business Association, a partner organization of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, which has more than 40 representative offices in the Russian Federation and more than 20 representative offices in foreign countries and provides support to entrepreneurs to create a socially responsible business based on the spiritual values ​​of Islam as an integral part of the general humanitarian values ​​of modern civilization. IAIB provides RUDN University with assistance in developing the Master’s programme “Islamic Law” on the basis of a Memorandum of Cooperation concluded between organizations and provides internship opportunities to train qualified personnel for commercial and state enterprises of the Russian Federation, foreign countries, develop Islamic business as a component of the Russian economy and counter ideas of extremism in the modern world. Among other bases for internships, the following state bodies and organizations are provided: the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, Sberbank PJSC, Tatneft PJSC, AK BARS CAPITAL Management Company, Financial House “Amal”, Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan, Turkish Airlines and the Islamic Development Bank.

Career

Theoretical knowledge and practical skills acquired during the studies allow the graduates to further carry out professional activities in the field of Islamic economic (business) law. It is a central legal component of the Islamic economy, since the challenges that Islamic business organizations (e.g., International Islamic Business Association) as well as state institutions currently face, are mainly of a legal nature.
In some Western countries, the courts apply certain norms of Islamic law (most often this concerns marriage, family, succession and property relations), in many non-Muslim countries there are business organizations, such as banks, insurance and investment companies, whose activities are regulated on the basis of Islamic legal norms and principles. The above examples open up career opportunities for the graduates who have mastered the Islamic law programme.
Islamic law forms the basis for functioning of authoritative international organizations of a regional nature such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of the Islamic World. The activities of the Islamic Development Bank are based on similar principles. Specialists in the field of Islamic law are in demand in the above-mentioned international and Russian social Islamic organizations.
The graduates have the opportunity to successfully apply the theoretical knowledge in the field of Islamic law as well as academic and pedagogical competencies acquired during their training in further activities in educational institutions of higher education.