Religion, Law, and Security in Africa: Rabat Morocco, 14-17 May 2017
The Fifth Annual Conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) took place in Rabat, Morocco, from 14 to 17 May 2017. Following the success of conferences in Ghana (2013), South Africa (2014), Namibia (2015) and Ethiopia (2016), this event was a collaboration of ACLARS with the International University of Rabat; the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) of Brigham Young University Law School, United States; and the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS), Milan, Italy.
Participating in this highly successful event were more than 100 scholars and government and religious leaders from Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon…
Durham Keynotes at Judicial Roundtable in Abuja, Nigeria – 20 June 2016
On June 20, Professor Cole Durham gave the keynote address for a Judicial Roundtable of approximately 100 judges in Abuja, Nigeria. Among the participants in the Roundtable were Professor Is-haq Oloyede, OFR, The National Coordinator/Secretary, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Member Steering Committee ACLARS; Wahab Shittu, Coordinator Center for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos; Hon. Justice Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, Justice of the Court of Appeal, Nigeria; Denise Lindberg, Senior Judge, State of Utah Third Judicial District Court; Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Representing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed; Prof Yemi Osinbajo GCON (SAN), Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Hon, Justice A. O. Lukolu-Sodipe, Court of Appeal; Malam A. U. Maidama, representing…
Durham at Conference and Course at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria
On June 22, 2016, Professor Cole Durham delivered the keynote address and several lectures for a conference and mini-course attended by approximately 500 students and young scholars on “Law, Religion and Development in Africa” at the University of Ilorin, in Ilorin, Nigeria.
The topics covered during the Ilorin conference included:
– Law and Religion Studies in Nigeria: The journey so far.
– Law, Religion and Development.
…
Nigeria: Conference on Law and Religion: The Role of the State, 24-28 April 2017
A conference on ‘Law and Religion: The Role of the State’ was held 24-28 April 2017 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Sponsors of the event were the National Judicial Institute, Nigeria; the Faculties of Law & Arts of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; the Faculty of Law of the University of Lagos, Nigeria; the West African Center for Law and Religion Studies; and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University (USA).
International Conference: Towards Law and Religious Freedom in Africa
An International Conference “Towards Law and Religious Freedom in Africa” was held at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, February 26-28, 2015. The conference was an initiative of the Centre for Human Rights of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (Lagos and Ikeja Branches); the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies, South Africa, and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University.
The Chief Host and Host of the event were the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Rahamon A. Bello, FAEng, and the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Professor Akin Ibidapo-Obe…
The African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS)
A major initiative of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and international (primarily African) partners, the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) was officially launched the Second Conference on Law and Religion in Africa, held at Stellenbosch University in May 2014, with Prof dr Pieter Coertzen of Stellenbosch as President. ACLARS Steering Committee members include ICLRS Founding Director Cole Durham, and …
2016 ACLARS Conference: ‘Religious Pluralism, Heritage, and Social Development in Africa’
More than 60 scholars, legal professionals, and religious leaders from Africa and many other parts of the world joined in the Fourth Conference on Law and Religion in Africa, sponsored by the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) and held Sunday, 22 May to Tuesday, 24 May, 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A workshop for early career scholars was held immediately prior to the conference on May 22. The theme of the conference, which was hosted by College of Law and Good Governance Studies of Addis Ababa University and held at the Capital Hotel, was “Religious Pluralism, Heritage, and Social Development in Africa”.
Awol Wagris, Ethiopia State Minister of Federal and Pastoralist Affairs, delivered the opening speech of the conference: “Looking ahead,” he said, “the greatest challenges our country faces with regard to the protection of religious freedom and promotion of religious pluralism are religious extremism, intolerance, and violent conflict.” He added that addressing this challenge effectively requires the promotion of mutual understanding, respect, cooperation…
2015 ACLARS Conference: ‘Religious Freedom and Religious Pluralism in Africa’
The Third Conference on Law and Religion in Africa took place in Windhoek, Namibia, May 18-19, 2015. This memorable and very successful conference focused on the theme “Religious Freedom and Religious Pluralism in Africa: Prospects and Limitations.” Some sixty participants participated in the conference, from 17 countries: UK, US, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, South Africa, Senegal, Namibia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Uganda, Belgium.
Participants discussed such topics as:
- African traditional law / religion
- Human rights and dignity (including rights of children, the disabled, the elderly and women)
- Implications of globalisation, neo-liberalism, democratisation, and fragile states for religious practice in African societies
- Competing conceptions of religion and freedom in the African context
…
Law and Religion in Africa: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies
The Second Conference on Law and Religion in Africa was held at Stellenbosch University (South Africa) from 26 to 28 May 2014. Some 60 scholars, legal professionals, and religious leaders from 15 countries particpated in this conference, focusing on the theme “Law and Religion in Africa: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies.” Published papers from the First Conference on Law and Religion in Africa, “Comparative Practices, Experiences, and Prospects”—which was held in Legon, Ghana, in 2013—were made available, and the new African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) was officially launched on the last day of the conference.
The conference was opened on Monday with welcome addresses by conference organizers Pieter Coertzen and W. Cole Durham, Jr. Monday closed with a Conference Reception featuring a keynote address by Justice Albie Sachs, Emeritus Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. An additional keynote address was given by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng of the…
Law and Religion in Africa: Comparative Practices, Experiences, and Prospects
The conference “Law and Religion in Africa: Comparative Practices, Experiences, and Prospects” was held 14-15 January 2013 at the University of Ghana in Legon, Ghana.
Scholars, legal professionals, and religious leaders from Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierre Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, the United Kindgom, and the United States gathered in Legon for the two-day event.
The event was sponsored by the Unit for the Study of Law and Religion in the Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa; the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana; the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University, United States; and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States. …
Islam in the Law: Sharia, Secularism, and Society in the Euro-Mediterranean Region
The Center co-sponsored conference “Islam in the Law: Sharia, Secularism, and Society in the Euro-Mediterranean Region” was held November 7-9, 2013 at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. Welcomes by Dean Nisar Messari of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor T. Jeremy Gunn both of Al Akhawayn, were followed by keynote addresses by Professor Olivier Roy, European University Institute, and Tahir Mahmood, Professor of Eminence & Honorary Chair, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Amity International University.
Other speakers were Professors Cole Durham and James Toronto of Brigham Young University; Professor Gerhard Robbers, University of Trier; Professor Alessandro Ferrari, University of Milan; Professor Blandine Chelini-Pont, University Aix-Marseilles; Professor…