Symposium 2011 Delegate Rachael Kohn Interviews Delegates Justice Zaki Asmi and the Reverend Thomas Philips on Spirit of Things Broadcast
Dr. Rachael Kohn, host of the Australia ABC radio program The Spirit of Things, was a delegate to the Eighteenth Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. For her program of 23 October, Dr. Kohn broadcast an interview with fellow Symposium participants from Malaysia, conducted during her stay in Provo.
Religious pluralism marks the history of Malaysia, notes Dr. Kohn, but riots in 1969 fostered tensions between religious groups that have had lasting effects. Recently-retired Chief Justice of Malaysia, Zaki bin Tun Azmi, says religious pluralism is very well managed in his country, which is officially Muslim. But 40% of the country is not Muslim, and the Rev’d Thomas Philips…
Professor Doxey Keynote Speaker at JRLCS Leadership Conference
Heidi Carmack
Professor Gary B. Doxey addressed the J. Reuben Clark Law Society as the keynote speaker for the annual JRCLS leadership conference at Aspen Grove on 29 September 2011. Professor Doxey, Associate Director for the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, invited listeners to consider the decay of religious freedom throughout the world and issued…
Professor Smith at UVU Interfaith Meeting and JRCLS Salt Lake Chapter
Professor Robert T. Smith, Managing Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, participated in two recent events. As a member of the panel “Religion in Politics, Professor Smith attended the first meeting of the Utah Valley University Interfaith Student Association, on 20 September 2011 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Other panel participants were Mark Hausam, Professor of Philosophy at UVU, Daniel Haas, Minister at Provo Community United Church of Christ, and Elaine Ball, Executive Director – Utah Coalition of Reason.
On 22 September 2011, Professor Smith made a presentation to the Salt Lake Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, “Render Unto Caesar That Which is Caesar’s: How an Erosion of Religious Freedom Could Jeopardize the Historical Tax Privileges of Churches,”…
Center Hosts Visitors from Indonesia
The Center was privileged to host four visitors from Indonesia who were in the United States as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. State Department. Mr. Fajar Riza Ul HAQ, Executive Director, MAARIF Institute for Culture and Humanity; Mr. Al KHONIF, Director, Research Institute of Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Jember; Mr. Aulia KOSASIH, Chairman, Department of Law and Human Rights, National Board of Association of Islamic Studies; and Mr. Singgih NUGROHO, Program Coordinator, Percik Institute, Salatiga, had traveled to the United States to participate in a 21-day program…
Visitors from Serbia Explore Role of Religion in the United States
On 17 May 2011 ICLRS personnel assisted in hosting visitors to BYU Campus from Serbia, here as part of the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy (UCCD) program to explore “The Role of Religion and Social Issues in the United States.” Center leaders Bob Smith, Brett Scharffs, Gary Doxey, and David Kirkham joined Law School Professor Fred Gedicks and other scholars from across campus to welcome Mr. Adnan Ahmedi, Head, Council of the Islamic Community, Presevo; Mr. Isak Asiel, Supreme Rabbi, Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia; Mr. Drasko Denovic, Member, Church of Christ, Belgrade; Mr. Muhamed Jusufspahic, Mufti, Islamic Community of Serbia; Mr. Aleksandar Sekulic, Secretary, Office of His Holiness Patriarch Irinej, Serbian Orthodox Church, Belgrade; Mr. Gordon Matic, English Language Officer; and Mr. Fedja Zimic, Escort Interpreter.
The Center Announces the 2011 Summer Research Fellows
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies is pleased to announce the 2011 Student Research Fellows and locations of their assignments for next summer. The ICLRS Student Research Fellows Program invites students from the J. Reuben Clark Law School to participate in an international externship followed by a guided individual research project. The five-week externships take place at the offices legal counsels in ten foreign countries and in Chicago and Salt Lake City. Students become active participants in the current work of the legal counsel with whom they are affiliated. Returning to Provo for the remainder of the summer, the student fellows become engaged in one or more of the Center’s research and publication endeavors.
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Center Welcomes Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Professor of Islamic and Seeratt Studies, Pakistan
Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Director, Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, visited the International Center for Law and Religion Studies on Tuesday, 22 February 2011. As a professor of Islamic and Seeratt Studies, Dr. Ayaz participated in a 2004 International Visitor Leadership Program on “Religious Diversity in the United States.” Upon return to Pakistan, he worked with colleagues to implement an interfaith curriculum at the University of Peshawar, which in turn led to the establishment of a campus-based interfaith center….
Professor Silvio Ferrari Addresses Religion and the Public/Private Divide in Europe
In an event sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Professor Silvio Ferrari spoke at Brigham Young University on Monday, 31 January 2011, on the topic “Religion and the Public/Private Divide in the European Legal Systems.” Professor Ferrari is Professor of Canon Law at the University of Milan and Professor of Church-State Relations at the University of Leuven in Belgium. He is director of the Istituto Ecclesiastico at the University of Milan, and is the founder and president of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS). He…
International Leadership Program Visitors from Canada, 28 January 2011
Four representatives of the International Visitor Leadership Program, Promoting Moderate Voices, a Project for Canada, visited the Center on 28 January 2011. The visitors were in the United States to discuss ways to promote interfaith dialogue and moderate discussion of religious differences; learn how federal, state, and local government agencies counter religious and idealogical extremism and promote diversity; explore best practices in integrating immigrants and Muslim groups into Western society; and meet with government, religious, and non-profit…
Gary Doxey Named ICLRS Development Committee Chair
Effective January 2011, Professor Gary B. Doxey, an Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, has been named chair of the Center’s Development Committee. Professor Doxey replaces Dean Scott Cameron, BYU Law School Associate Dean of External Relations, who had served as Development Committee Chair since summer 2008. The Center expresses its profound thanks for the invaluable service of Dean Cameron, who has served as a member of the Development Committee since its inception in 2006.
Professor Doxey, formerly the Center’s Managing Director, rejoined the Center in 2009 after…
BYU Law Professors Durham, Fleming, and Scharffs at CEU in Budapest
Each spring, three professors from the J. Reuben Clark Law School travel to Budapest, Hungary to teach students from more than 100 countries at Central European University (CEU). BYU Law Professors Cole Durham, Clifton Fleming, and Brett Scharffs are among the distinguished visiting faculty from thirty countries who participate in the Comparative Constitutional Law Program of CEU’s Department of Legal Studies. Established in 1991, CEU is a model for international education: a center for regional and global studies where there is intellectual support for building open and democratic societies…
Cole Durham Named ICLARS President at Conference in Santiago, Chile – September 2011
Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) at Brigham Young University, was installed as President of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS) at the Second ICLARS Conference, held 8-10 September 2011 in Santiago, Chile. Professor Durham succeeds Professor Silvio Ferrari of Università degli Studi di Milano. Professor Robert Smith, ICLRS Managing Director, serves as member of the ICLARS Secretariat.
ICLARS is an international network of scholars and experts of law and religion. It began in 2007, with the aim of providing a place where information, data, and opinions could be exchanged among members and made available to the broader scientific community. To this end, ICLARS…
Senator Lieberman on Faith and the Public Square at BYU, 25 October 2011
Senator Joseph Lieberman addressed the topic “Faith and the Public Square,” related to his recently published book, The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath, at Brigham Young University’s Marriott Center on Tuesday, 25 October 2011. The lecture will be rebroadcast on KBYU-TV at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on November 20. Click here to read the BYU News Report of the event.
From a Washington Times review of the book by Michael Medved: “The purpose of ‘the gift of rest’ in Mr. Lieberman’s view isn’t ‘to recharge our batteries so we can work harder but to recharge our souls so we can live better.’ Citing a…
ICLRS Fellows and Executive Committee Members in Moot Court Competitions
Febuary 2011 – Washington, D.C., New York, Chapel Hill
Students from the J. Reuben Clark Law School, including several ICLRS Student Research Fellows and members of the Symposium Executive Committee, are participants in the 2011 Moot Court competitions. 2009 Student Fellow Elsa Jacobsen is part of the 5th Annual National Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition hosted by the George Washington Law School and sponosed by the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. 2010 Student Fellow and Executive…
Apostle Dallin H. Oaks Speaks of Truth and Tolerance, Decries Moral Relativism
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, addressed a gathering in the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University, on the evening of 11 September 2011. Before his calling as an Apostle in 1984, Elder Oaks had served as a distinguished practitioner and teacher of law in Chicago and Utah. Formerly President of Brigham Young University, Elder Oaks was at the time of his call to Church leadership a member of the Utah State Supreme Court….
J. Reuben Clark Law Society Sponsors Video, Facebook Page
In keeping with its mission to “affirm the strength brought to the law by a lawyer’s personal religious conviction [and] strive through public service and professional excellence to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of law,” the J. Reuben Clark Law Society (JRCLS) has produced a video, “Lawyers as Healers,” now showing on YouTube. The video features attorney and public servant James E. Faust (1920-2007), who was a member of the governing council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving an Apostle and as counselor to the President of the Church.
The JRCLS also invited interested parties to visit its Facebook page…
ICLRS Directors Speak at Clark Society Leadership Conference
Beginning Thursday, September 29 the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and BYU Law Alumni hosted the annual Leadership Conference at Aspen Grove in Provo Canyon. Professor Gary B. Doxey, Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, with additional remarks by Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., ICLRS Director, as well as William F. Atkin, International Chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Other highlights of the conference included showcasing keynote speaker Judge Milan Smith…
Center Hosts Visitors from Canada, Italy, Pakistan, Africa, Serbia, and Jordan – 2011
28 January. Four representatives of the International Visitor Leadership Program of Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy (UCCD) program, Promoting Moderate Voices, a Project for Canada, visited the Center. The visitors were in the United States to discuss ways to promote interfaith dialogue and moderate discussion of religious differences; learn how federal, state, and local government agencies counter religious and idealogical extremism and promote diversity; explore best practices in integrating immigrants and Muslim groups into Western society; and meet with government, religious, and non-profit leaders that assist with promoting religious and cultural diversity,
31 January. In an event sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Professor Silvio Ferrari spoke at Brigham Young University on the topic “Religion and the Public/Private Divide in the European Legal Systems.” Professor Ferrari is Professor of Canon Law at the University of Milan and Professor of Church-State Relations at the University of Leuven in Belgium. He is director of the Istituto Ecclesiastico at the University of Milan, is the founder and president of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS), and is a member of the ICLRS Academic Advisory Board.
22 February. Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Director, Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, visited the Center. As a professor of Islamic and Seeratt Studies, Dr. Ayaz participated in a 2004 International Visitor Leadership Program on “Religious Diversity in the United States.” Upon return to Pakistan, he worked with colleagues to implement an interfaith curriculum at the University of Peshawar, which in turn led to the establishment of a campus-based interfaith center.
29 April. The Center particpated in hosting fourteen UCCD visitors from Africa, who came to examine “Religious Tolerance and Interfaith Dialogue in the United States.” Center personnel enjoyed a mutually informative discussion on these issues with the visitors, most of them educators and government officials from French-speaking African nations: Abbo Ahmadou, Don Yves Kisukulu, Mohamed Douhour Hersi , Antonio Serifo Embalo, Memunah Anatu Sheriff, Moses Mkandawire, Elhadj Mamadou Traore, Mme Issa Kadidiatou, Kadidiatou Boubacar Mamane, Sanoussi Tondi Abdou, Stephen Sunday Enada, Serigne Seye, Zaria Said Dunia, and S. Faith Mathe.
17 May. ICLRS personnel assisted in hosting visitors to BYU Campus from Serbia, here as part of the UCCD program to explore “The Role of Religion and Social Issues in the United States.” Center leaders Bob Smith, Brett Scharffs, Gary Doxey, and David Kirkham joined Law School Professor Fred Gedicks and other scholars from across campus to welcome Mr. Adnan Ahmedi, Head, Council of the Islamic Community, Presevo; Mr. Isak Asiel, Supreme Rabbi, Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia; Mr. Drasko Denovic, Member, Church of Christ, Belgrade; Mr. Muhamed Jusufspahic, Mufti, Islamic Community of Serbia; Mr. Aleksandar Sekulic, Secretary, Office of His Holiness Patriarch Irinej, Serbian Orthodox Church, Belgrade; Mr. Gordon Matic, English Language Officer; and Mr. Fedja Zimic, Escort Interpreter.
30 June. Center personnel Robert Smith, Gary Doxey, and David Kirkham made a presentation to six visiting Shari’a judges from Jordan, participants in the UCCD-sponsored program, “Legal Issues and U.S. Family Courts.” The judges specifically requested the visit to the Center, and were interested in discussing the role of religion and law in Utah and the United States, specifically to hear of instances where family courts weigh considerations of religious belief and practice.
Holiday Greetings to Friends Far and Near
We appreciate your friendship and look forward to continued opportunities for collaboration.
Our very best wishes to you this Holiday Season
and in the New Year to come.
Brett Scharffs, Gayla Sorenson,
Marshall Morrise, Donlu Thayer,
Cole Durham, Robert Smith,
Deborah Wright, Gary Doxey,
Elizabeth Clark, David Kirkham
ICLRS Files Amicus Brief for Petitioner in Ministerial Exception Case
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University prepared an amicus brief in support of the Petitioner in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, heard during the fall term of the Supreme Court of the United States. The case is seen by many as the most important religious freedom case to come before the court in decades.
The Center was invited to provide a comparative perspective in the case, drawing upon pertinent widespread global principles of religious autonomy to “underscore the distinctive strengths of the American approach and to highlight the hazards of narrowing religious autonomy in this critical domain.” Under the direction of Center Director W. Cole Durham, Jr., Counsel of Record, Center…