Limerick law symposium examines Islam and Irish law

The Minority Religions under Irish Law: Islam in National and International Context symposium was organised by Dr Katherine O’Sullivan, who told Irish Legal News: “Ireland is quickly becoming more and more multicultural and it is really important that we consider issues like, for example, how minority religions fare under Irish law.

“We were particularly delighted to welcome our international speakers from the UK and the US whose insights were really valuable.

“As we look to the future, we in Ireland will inevitably have to see how we can learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions who have a longer history of issues like multiculturalism than ourselves.”

Visiting national speakers included Professor Neville Cox (TCD), Dr Máire Ní Shúilleabháin (UCD), Dr Claire Hogan (Barrister-at-law) and Dr Edana Richardson (University of Maynooth).

An international perspective was provided by Prof. M. Christian Green (Emory University), Prof. Jørgen S. Nielsen (University of Birmingham & University of Copenhagen), Dr Samia Bano (SOAS University of London), Prof. Oliver Scharbrodt (University of Birmingham) and Dr Amin Al-Astewani (University of Lancaster).

Dr James Carr (Dept. of Sociology, UL) and Dr Norah Burns (School of Law, UL) chaired sessions focusing on ‘Muslim marriage recognition’ and ‘Religion and the Irish Constitution’ respectively.

Papers delivered at the symposium will now go forward towards an edited collection to be published in 2018.

The symposium was kindly sponsored by UL School of Law and the International Activity Challenge Fund, University of Limerick.