Writing Islamic Constitutions: Lessons from Pakistan

Muslim-majority countries often face the question of how to reconcile the place and role of religion within the framework of the nation state and a modern westernised system of constitutional ordering. And few states have wrangled with the politics of constitutionalising religion as profoundly and persistently as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This paper argues that insights drawn from Pakistan are pertinent as much for contemporary debates on Islam within many Muslim-majority countries as they are for wider debates on religion and politics in the modern period. It argues that when contemplating the constitutionalisation of Islam and Islamic provisions: the design and jurisdiction of the courts matter; it may be better to achieve a workable political compromise between competing parties on religious matters than to stall or strive for the realisation of some ideal; the constitution should be free of any sectarian bias; and constitution-makers must take more structural matters such as the separation of powers seriously when considering discussions on religion and politics.     

The Failures of Neo‐Liberal State Building in Iraq: Assessing Australia's Post‐Conflict Reconstruction and Development Initiatives

This article examines Australia's post‐conflict reconstruction and development initiatives in Iraq following the intervention of 2003. Overall, it finds that Australia privileged the neo‐liberal model of post‐conflict state building by investing in projects that would enhance the capacity of the new Iraqi state, its key institutions and the private sector towards the imposition of a liberal democracy and a free‐market economy. To demonstrate, this article documents the failures of the Australian government's stated aims to “support agriculture” and “support vulnerable populations” via interviews conducted in Iraq with rural farmers and tribal members and those working in, or the beneficiaries of, Iraq's disability sector. It concludes by noting that such failures are not only indicative of the inadequacy of the neo‐liberal state building model, but also that these failures point the way forward for future post‐conflict reconstruction and development projects which ought to be premised on a genuine and sustained commitment to addressing the needs of those made most vulnerable by war and regime change.     

Analyzing Data Remnant Remains on User Devices to Determine Probative Artifacts in Cloud Environment

Cloud storage service allows users to store their data online, so that they can remotely access, maintain, manage, and back up data from anywhere via the Internet. Although helpful, this storage creates a challenge to digital forensic investigators and practitioners in collecting, identifying, acquiring, and preserving evidential data. This study proposes an investigation scheme for analyzing data remnants and determining probative artifacts in a cloud environment. Using pCloud as a case study, this research collected the data remnants available on end‐user device storage following the storing, uploading, and accessing of data in the cloud storage. Data remnants are collected from several sources, including client software files, directory listing, prefetch, registry, network PCAP, browser, and memory and link files. Results demonstrate that the collected remnants data are beneficial in determining a sufficient number of artifacts about the investigated cybercrime.     

The Compatibility Dialectic: Mediating the Legitimate Coexistence of Islamic Law and State Law

Islamic Law is not now and cannot be the state law of any state, whether Muslims are the majority or minority of the population. This view does not dispute the religious authority of Islamic Law for Muslims, which exists only outside the framework of the state. Still, some principles of Islamic Law should be relevant to the public discourse, provided the argument is made in terms of what the author calls 'civic reason' and not simply by assertions of religious conviction. While the two are different types of normative systems, each based on its own sources of authority and legitimacy, there are possibilities of compatibility and mutual influence between Islamic Law and state law as complementary normative systems, without requiring either to conform to the nature and role of the other. This lecture examines the requirements, scope and dynamics of this dialectic relationship, whether Muslims are majority or minority.     

Is re-creation of human identity possible using tooth prints? An experimental study to aid in identification

Enamel in teeth, as documented is the hardest substance in the entire human body. Tooth prints are the enamel rod end patterns on the tooth surface. Could this fact be a boon in utilizing it for an individual's identification in the hands of forensic experts? A study has been attempted towards the same. These tooth prints were recorded for 60 extracted tooth specimens after acid etching using a cellophane tape. Subsequently a digital image of the print was obtained which was subjected to biometric conversion using Verifinger standard SDK version 6.0 software followed by the use of Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) software for comparison of the tooth prints. In results we observed that tooth prints were composed of varied patterns and sub-patterns. A comparison was made between the tooth prints of different and the same individual and also between different classes of teeth (incisors, canines, premolars and molars). None of the patterns exhibited intra- and inter-individual similarity. Nor did any particular class of the tooth could be preferentially used over the other for an individual identification. This field demands a need for further exploration towards the use of tooth prints for establishing an individual's identity.