Unified Theory of Trust | Waqf and the Islamic Law of Trust

Keith Breckenridge with commentary from Ayesha Omar

Historians of the medieval law of trust have pointed to its origins in the religious obligations of waqf that the English crusaders brought home from Jerusalem in the 13th century. African lawyers and economists have also pointed to the influence of Islam in the development of customary ideas about trusteeship in the inheritance of property, and the distinctive ethnicizing of firm credit on the continent. Specific instruments of trust – typically beyond the control of the state – have been important to the development of islamic institutions over a millennium, and to the success of the trading diasporas on the African continent.  The roles, laws, mechanisms, and goals of these local waqf institutions have powerful implications for the global theory of trust, and for the idea that trust can be produced by centralised and automated technological systems. [Works to discuss: Alpers, Bishara, Breach, Guadiosi, Launay, Maitland, Malikane, Makdisi, Mcdow, Soares]

The lectures will be hosted in hybrid format in the WISER Seminar room and on Zoom.  Please register on Zoom in advance of the meetings in order to join us.