In September 2010, KARAMAH hosted a one-day Advancing Legal Leadership workshop for seventeen exceptional legal professionals from the Middle East and North Africa.  KARAMAH designed the sessions to educate participants about the U.S. legal and judicial systems and to enrich their understanding of how women’s rights are safeguarded within these systems.

Dr. Azizah al-Hibri and Nevine Abdullah described ways in which Islamic law is referenced in U.S. courts. Ms. Abdullah highlighted the need for educated, expert witnesses and Dr. al-Hibri provided the program participants with examples of how even Muslim Americans do not always understand Islamic law.

The program closed with a lively debate simulation facilitated by Mais Abousy, Karamah’s Director of Programs. During the simulation, participants developed and presented different positions on how to determine child custody within American and Islamic law, using skills they had learned from an earlier lecture on leadership and conflict resolution.