25.09.2026 Call for Papers: Workshop "Islam and Normative Orders in European Empires: Governance, Law, and Local Agency" in Marburg, 3-5 December 2026

Organizers: Ninja Bumann, Nicole Immig (Justus Liebig University Giessen) / Evgeniya Prusskaya, Albrecht Fuess (Marburg University)

Call for Papers

During the long nineteenth century, European empires expanded into territories with significant Muslim populations, bringing their inhabitants under imperial and colonial rule. Empires used different strategies to incorporate Muslims into the imperial domain, facing the necessity both to develop policies toward existing Islamic institutions and to engage with the normative orders embedded in local societies. These processes led to various transformations of religious, legal, and administrative bodies, as well as to the incorporation of Islamic institutions into broader imperial structures. Both imperial authorities and local Muslim actors shaped these transformations. In addition, the transimperial circulation of knowledge, as well as the transfer and adaptation of administrative practices, shaped imperial governance.

A rich body of scholarship has explored legal systems in empires, shaped by an interaction of imperial legislation, local customs, and religious norms, with “legal pluralism” and “multinormativity” providing important analytical frameworks for examining these configurations. Several studies have highlighted the interplay between Sharia and colonial administrations and the ways in which Sharia was incorporated and reshaped within colonial legal contexts, generating new practices, meanings, and understandings.

This workshop aims to analyze and discuss the transformations of Muslim communities and Islamic institutions under imperial and colonial rule. It seeks to explore the governance of Muslim communities and how local Muslim actors negotiated and navigated imperial structures. A particular focus will be on the coexistence and interaction of different normative orders and legal structures, as well as the ways local actors used them.

We are particularly interested in contributions focusing on the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Central Asia under imperial and colonial rule while also encouraging submissions on cases from other regions. We also welcome contributions addressing Islamic legacies in emerging nation-states in the post-Ottoman space and beyond.

The workshop seeks to shed light on the comparisons, connections, and entanglements between different actors across empires during the long nineteenth century. We invite contributions based on concrete case studies addressing, but not limited to, the following questions:

- Sharia, customary law, and imperial laws in imperial/colonial contexts
- Intersections between different normative orders and legal structures
- Forum shopping in imperial/colonial legal settings
- Definitions of being Muslim and tensions between legal classification and religious identity
- Regulation of Muslim property rights and waqf
- Regulation of family and inheritance affairs of Muslims
- Muslim actors and mediators between state intervention and local communities
- Ottoman and Islamic legacies in (post-)imperial/colonial administrative and judicial institutions
- Transfer of legal knowledge and administrative practices between empires
- Social transformations and their impact on Islamic institutions and legal reforms

Submission of Proposals

Applicants are invited to submit a proposal of no more than 350 words outlining their presentation and its relevance to the conference theme, together with a short CV (max. 1 page). Proposals should be sent by email to the organizers: evgeniya.prusskaya@uni-marburg.de / ninja.bumann@geschichte.uni-giessen.de

The deadline for submissions is 10 October 2026. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the end of October.

Organisation

The conference will be held on 3–5 December 2026 in Marburg. The conference language is English. Accommodation will be arranged by the organizers. Limited funding for travel costs may be available, with further details to be confirmed at a later stage. Please indicate in your application if you need travel support.