Launch of student essay competition! Sharia: what’s going on?

Posted: Tue, 30th Apr 2013

One Law for All and the Lawyers' Secular Society (LSS) have today announced a student research competition on the subject of sharia law, sponsored by the National Secular Society.

The competition (which is open to all full-time and part-time students registered at a higher education institution within the European Economic Area) aims to encourage and foster a more developed and rigorous understanding of sharia's reach and influence — whether institutionalised or unofficial — across Europe, and to highlight any harm or human rights abuses that might be taking place within that context.

The organisers are keen to receive essays that help reveal the extent of sharia's impact on criminal law, as well as its influence upon family law matters. They have expressed a particular interest in receiving essays that provide evidence of cases where sharia law is in conflict with a country's established legal principles, in areas such as gender equality, the rule of law, and child welfare.

The winner of the competition will receive a prize of £300 and have their essay published on the websites of the LSS, One Law for All, and the NSS. Two runners-up will also have their essays published on these websites.

See here for more details.