Khaled Abou El Fadl
Encyclopedia
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl (born 1963 in Kuwait
) is a professor of law at the UCLA School of Law
where he teaches Islamic law
, immigration, human rights, international and national security law. He holds degrees from Yale University
(B.A.), University of Pennsylvania Law School
(J.D.) and Princeton University
(M.A./Ph.D.). He also received formal training in Islamic jurisprudence
in Egypt
and Kuwait
. He previously has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, Yale Law School
, and Princeton University
.
Professor El-Fadl was appointed by former U.S. President George W. Bush
as a commissioner on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He advocates a strong support for human rights and sat on the Board of Directors for Human Rights Watch
. Dr. El-Fadl currently serves on the Advisory Board of Middle East Watch.
He is a prolific author and prominent public intellectual on Islamic law and Islam.
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
) is a professor of law at the UCLA School of Law
UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...
where he teaches Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, immigration, human rights, international and national security law. He holds degrees from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(B.A.), University of Pennsylvania Law School
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Law School, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the Ivy League, it is among the oldest and most selective law schools in the nation. It is currently ranked 7th overall by U.S. News & World Report,...
(J.D.) and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(M.A./Ph.D.). He also received formal training in Islamic jurisprudence
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. He previously has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Professor El-Fadl was appointed by former U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as a commissioner on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He advocates a strong support for human rights and sat on the Board of Directors for Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
. Dr. El-Fadl currently serves on the Advisory Board of Middle East Watch.
He is a prolific author and prominent public intellectual on Islamic law and Islam.
Selected works
- The Centrality of Shari'ah to Government and Constitutionalism in Islam, in: Constitutionalism in Islamic Countries: Between Upheaval and Continuity (eds. Rainer Grote / Tilmann Röder, Oxford University Press, 2011)
- The Search for Beauty in Islam: Conference of the Books (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006)
- The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists (Harper San Francisco, 2005)
- Islam and the Challenge of Democracy (Princeton University Press, 2004)
- Democracy and Islam in the New Constitution of Afghanistan (Independent Publication, 2003)
- The Place of Tolerance in Islam (Beacon Press, 2002)
- And God Knows the Soldiers: The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourses (UPA/Rowman and Littlefield, 2001)
- Speaking in God's Name: Islamic law, Authority and Women (Oneworld Press, Oxford, 2001)
- Conference of the Books: The Search for Beauty in Islam (University Press of America/Rowman and Littlefield, 2001)
- Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2001)