Muslim Usage of the Internet
This study explores how Muslims use the Internet for religious purposes and whether usage patterns vary between Muslim minority and Muslim majority states. PDF: English
Musa Furber
Intensive Animal Farming: Wrongs & Responsibilities
This essay addresses the welfare of animals farmed industrially for consumer markets, from the perspective of the Sacred Law. PDF: Arabic • English
Beauty and the Sacred Law
It is for the purpose of securing all that is beautiful that God revealed the Sacred law. Any attempt to modify or implement it in a piecemeal fashion only distorts it, leading to ugliness rather than beauty. PDF: Arabic • English
The Public Understanding of Islamic Scholarship in Society
In this piece, Musa Furber offers a hypothesis to express reasons of faux fatwa “fiqhtion addiction”, and propose activities to address the problem. PDF: Arabic • English
Rights and Duties Pertaining to Kept Animals
A case study in Islamic Law and Ethics by Musa Furber. Animals are at the heart of many of today’s heated ethical and legal debates. This paper presents a survey of Qur’anic verses and prophetic narrations related to kept animals, and a study of one school’s application of this evidence to the topic of kept …
Elements of a Fatwa & Their Contribution to Confidence in Its Validity
This exploratory study examines the confidence Sunni Muslims place in the validity of fatwas based on their elements. It recommends that institutes which issue or disseminate fatwas ensure that their muftis are known to the public they serve. PDF: Arabic • English
Reducing The Role of Decision-Making Biases in Muslim Responsa
The role of decision-making biases in the fatwa process. Muslims often consult a legal expert (a mufti) concerning legal issues and to mediate intra-personal situations. A consultation with a mufti follows a process which includes conception, adaption, evaluation, and, finally, the response. While reviewing fatwas for errors, the author observed that many of the errors …
Obligations to Future Generations: A Shari‘ah Perspective
Actions of an earlier generation affect whether later generations will exist at all as well as the quality and type of life they will have. Discussions concerning the obligations earlier generations owe later generations have proven to be useful when thinking about the environment, economics, sustainability, and other issues. Western thinking about obligations to future generations …
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Arbitration & Mediation in non-Muslim Regions
Shari‘ah-based personal dispute resolution for Muslims living in non-Muslim regions. Dispute resolution remains a difficult issue for Muslims living in non-Muslim regions. While Muslims within Muslim regions do usually have access to Shari‘ah-based personal dispute resolution through settlement in court by an appointed judge (qāḍī) whose judgments are binding and enforceable, the absence of such …
Ethics & Virtual Worlds: Second Life as a Case Study
An introduction to Linden Lab’s Second Life and virtual worlds, the ethics of virtual worlds, and an outline of related issues in need of informed Shari‘ah reflection. Linden Lab’s Second Life is one of the many interactive virtual worlds where people spend a great deal of time and money. Virtual worlds include online metaverses, online …