Dr Amin Al-Astewani
Lecturer in LawProfile
Dr Al-Astewani focuses on the socio-legal role played by religious organisations in modern secular legal systems. He has led cutting-edge research on religious tribunals in the UK. After conducting fieldwork research at four of the most prominent of these tribunals, Dr Al-Astewani submitted written evidence to the UK Parliament on the legal status of their decisions and practices, as part of the first ever governmental review of religious tribunals in the UK. His evidence was subsequently cited by over twenty media outlets, including internationally. He continues to offer his legal expertise and advice to both policy-makers and religious organisations.
Current Teaching
Public Law
Law, Ethics & Society
Law Dissertation Supervision
LLM Dissertation Supervision
Research Overview
Dr Al-Astewani's main areas of research interest correlate with his teaching, and consist of two inter-related legal disicplines: Law & Religion and Public Law.
Current Research
Al-Astewani, A ‘The Utility of Legal Pluralism as a Conceptual Approach in the Field of Law and Religion’ in Barker et al (eds) Comparative Approaches to Law and Religion (Routledge 2025) 52-73
Al-Astewani, A ‘Religious responses to Covid-19 in England: An analysis of the key socio-legal themes’ (2023) 22(1) Millah Journal of Religious Studies 1-18.
Al-Astewani, A ‘Pedagogical Reflections on the Introduction of a ‘Law and Religion’ Module in the Traditional Legal Curricula of Law Schools in the UK’ in Hood et al (eds) Lesser Heard Voices in Studies of Religion (Brill 2022) 198-211.
Al-Astewani, A ‘To Open or Close? COVID-19, Mosques and the Role of Religious Authority within the British Muslim Community: A Socio-Legal Analysis’ (2020) 12(1) Religions 11-38.
Al-Astewani, A ‘Arbitration as a Legal Solution for Relationship Breakdown in the Muslim Community: The Case of the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal’ in Akhtar et al (eds) Cohabitation and Religious Marriage (Bristol University Press 2020) 129-142.
Al-Astewani, A ‘Loci of Leadership: The Quasi-Judicial Authority of Shariah Tribunals in the British Muslim Community’ (2019) 10(7) Religions 406-420.
Al-Astewani, A 'The legal framework for regulating Shariah Councils in the UK? a potential model for Ireland' in O’Sullivan, K (ed) Minority Religions under Irish Law: Islam in National and International Context (Brill 2019) 193-216.
Al-Astewani, A 'English Responses to Shariah Tribunals: A Critical Assessment of Populist Attitudes towards Islamic Law' (2019) Critical Policy Studies 1-21.
Al-Astewani, A 'Reflections on the Rise and Fall of the Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill' (2017) 4 Public Law 544-552.
Al-Astewani, A 'Accommodating Muslims Under the Common Law' (2017) 178 Law and Justice 1-7.
External Roles
Academic Journal Peer Reviewer for the following journals:
1) Religions
2) Australian Journal of Islamic Studies
3) Sage Open
4) Laws
5) Contemporary Islam
Professional Role
Student Support Tutor
PhD Supervision Interests
I welcome PhD proposals in the field of Law and Religion
Participation in conference - Academic
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Membership of committee
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Membership of committee
Member of Advisory Panel For Social Community and Cultural Engagement
- Centre for Law and Society