2009 – Ongoing — Over 20 percent of the world’s population is influenced to varying degrees by Islamic principles, which intersect customary, informal and statutory land laws. Despite their relevance, global land reviews and interventions rarely consider the application of Islamic land principles. This ignores the complex and distinctive forms of land tenure particular to Muslim societies derived from Islamic principles that co-exist alongside more easily recognizable patterns. This training course addresses this knowledge gap and seeks to build capacity in the field as a vehicle for enhanced rights, empowerment and sustainability. Instead of avoiding ground realities or dismissing Islamic law from the outside as a static, even inscrutable, historical narrative of little contemporary utility, this training course constructively engages with Islamic perspectives and their relationship to universal development goals.
The training course engages with the positive implications of Islamic dimensions of land for programmes broadly relating to land administration, land registration, urban planning and environmental sustainability. In particular, it focuses on opportunities for developing innovative and authentic tools in a range of specific areas and disciplines including Islamic family law, women’s rights, inheritance systems, the waqf or Islamic endowment, human rights and development and Islamic credit/microfinance. The eight modules recognise the diversity across Muslim countries in land and property rights and the distinctive weave of Islamic, customary, secular and cultural practices in different countries and regions.