Pearling was the main economic activity in the Gulf before the discovery and exploitation of oil. How was pearling regulated in the Gulf? What laws applied and who were the legal agents involved in the resolution of disputes between various pearling actors? The legal side of the pearl trade has been largely neglected from current scholarship on the topic.

In this lecture, Maryam Al Mutawa, Head of Collection Access, will present a historical overview of pearling in the Gulf and will highlight the pearling-related historical collection at the Heritage Library.

Following this, Dr. Alexandre Caeiro, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at College of Islamic Studies, will present the laws that governed the pearl trade and explain the role of emirs, salifa judges, qadis and the British authorities. The lecture will examine the changing relationships between Islamic law (sharī‘a), customary norm (‘urf), and state law (qānūn) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

The event will be conducted online via Zoom. 

Date: 15 February 2023

Time: 5:30 - 7:00 PM

Language: Arabic and English 

Target Audience: Researchers and students  

Seats are limited, please click the button below to register.