Mission: The UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law (JINEL) is published once a year. As the first law school journal in the West dealing with this topic,  JINEL’s goal is to emphasize and critically analyze all legal issues--social, political, civil, historical, economic, and commercial--that are of particular relevance to Muslims and Near Easterners in both Muslim and non-Muslim societies. Thus:

• we will present issues relating to the laws of the Near East and their effects on the people and countries of the region and worldwide;
• we will discuss laws as they have affected the people of the Near East outside the region;
• we will present issues relating to the theoretical aspects of Islamic law and jurisprudence, and its application.

Because the Near East is not a static geographical region, JINEL has adopted the broad policy of looking at each submission on a case-by-case basis and within the context of history to determine its relevance.  Areas of traditional study (e.g., the Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian Plateau) will of course be included, yet we will not overlook areas of study that have had a significant impact on, and been acculturated in one way or another, into the region (e.g., North Africa and Central and South Asia).

JINEL is a student-managed legal publication at the UCLA School of Law. Our staff is advised by Professors Khaled M. Abou El Fadl and Asli Ü. Bâli.

Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law
Call for Submissions

The UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law (JINEL) is now accepting submissions for Volume 18 (and Volume 19), the first of which is set to be published in October 2020. Although JINEL has historically focused explicitly on matters of Islamic jurisprudence in Muslim and non-Muslim societies, this edition will seek to broaden the Journal's aperture in order to solicit a diverse set of submissions.

Specifically, we welcome submissions that address the following set of topics:

1. The rise of Islamophobia in North America, Eastern and Western Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, and East Asia, with a specific focus on the legal and human rights implications for Muslims living in predominantly non-Muslim countries
2. The intersection of Muslims, race, and the law in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries (with a focus on contemporary developments, historical developments, or both)
3. Contemporary and historical developments within Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic schools of legal thought, and how these developments have impacted Islamic and non-Islamic legal systems in specific jurisdictions
4. The targeted killings of Muslims abroad and the legal justifications (or lack thereof) of drone strikes; key implications on national security law, human rights law, and sovereignty
5. Constitutional law and Islamic jurisprudence; exploring the compatibility (or absence thereof) of constitutionalism and Islamic legal systems
6. Islamic jurisprudence and the Islamic State (ISIS); exploring the version of jurisprudence espoused by the Islamic State and its claims of legitimacy
7. Contemporary developments in commercial law; exploring the intersection of entrepreneurship and Islamic finance in Muslim-majority countries
8. Other relevant areas of focus that address key legal issues associated with Muslim populations or Islamic legal systems writ large