The TraSIS team participated in the triennial Conference of ISILS, the International Society for Islamic Legal Studies. The XI Islamic Legal Studies Conference took place at the University of Münster (Germany) from 22 to 24 May 2025, hosted by the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies and the Religion and Politics ‘Cluster of Excellence’ (Exzellenzcluster “Religion und Politik”). 

The conference brought together scholars of Islamic Legal Studies from diverse backgrounds. It began with a roundtable discussion on “Researching and Teaching Sharia in 2025,” followed by an opening Panel on “Belonging to a Madhhab: Formation, Cohesion and Diversity in Islamic Schools of Law.” The second and third days of the conference featured six panels on a variety of topics in addition to a poster session in which participants presented their current research projects. 

The TraSIS team presented a project poster, and two members of the team also delivered papers. Laura Emunds gave a paper on her ongoing research, entitled “Legal Subjecthood Beyond the Freedom/Enslavement Binary: The Case of the Mukātab/a.” She introduced the audience to the theoretical framing of her dissertation, which centres on the notion of the mukātab/a as a form of legal liminality that takes different shapes in different legal domains and is inflected by a range of socio-legal relations. The project PI, Prof. Dr Serena Tolino, delivered a broad thematic paper on the study of labour in Islamic law, highlighting desiderata for future research. The contributions of the TraSIS team were well received, and the project members enjoyed the high calibre of research presented at the conference, as well as the opportunity to exchange scholarly views with other delegates. During the ISILS Business Meeting, Serena Tolino was elected Officer of the Board, and Laura Emunds became the inaugural Student Representative on the Society’s Board.