Talking With Teachers Season 7 Episode 5-Dr. Yannis Mahil

How deeply has modernity shaped the way Muslims understand Islam, law, morality, and even their own history?In Season 7, Episode 5 of *Talking With Teachers*, Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali sits down with Dr. Yannis Mahil for a wide-ranging conversation on Islamic law, modernity, collective ijtihad, the modern nation-state, and African-American Muslim history.Dr. Mahil discusses how the rise of modern states transformed the way Islamic law is interpreted and implemented, including debates surrounding criminal law and the relationship between classical fiqh and contemporary legal systems. The conversation also examines collective ijtihad and whether modern scholarly councils can carry the same authority traditionally associated with individual mujtahids and scholarly consensus.Later, the discussion turns to slavery and its abolition, contemporary Muslim approaches to difficult questions within the Islamic legal tradition, and the challenges Muslims face when attempting to reconcile inherited Islamic frameworks with modern assumptions.Dr. Mahil also shares his extensive research into Malcolm X and African-American Muslim history—including interviews with individuals who personally knew Malcolm X—and explains why these experiences became an important part of his academic work.The conversation ultimately raises a deeper question: **Has modernity changed not only the world Muslims live in, but the very intellectual framework through which Muslims understand Islam itself?****Guest:** Dr. Yannis Mahil **Host:** Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali **Series:** Talking With Teachers — Season 7, Episode 5Subscribe to Lamppost Education Initiative for more conversations exploring Islamic scholarship, history, theology, law, and contemporary Muslim life.