The 2017 Piediscalzi Lecture presents "Understanding Islamic Law: Sex Crimes in Doctrine and Practice"

The 2017 Piediscalzi Lecture presents

Dr. Judith E. Tucker
Professor, Department of History, Georgetown University
“Understanding Islamic Law:  Sex Crimes in Doctrine and Practice”

The criminalization and punishment of illicit sexual intercourse, or zina’, under Islamic law has been the subject of much debate and consternation in recent years.  By exploring the legal doctrines that underpin the definitions of this sex crime, and some of the actual practices of litigation drawn from the historical record, we can better understand how Islamic law works and how the state, jurists, reform