Havva Guney-Ruebenacker

Havva Guney-Ruebenacker is a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, teaching Comparative Family Law. She specializes in American family law, Islamic law, and comparative legal systems, with expertise in divorce litigation, spousal support, and child custody. Her research examines classical Islamic legal reforms, particularly regarding slavery and family law, alongside modernization trends in American family law, such as no-fault divorce.

Education:

• S.J.D., Harvard Law School
• L.L.M., Harvard Law School
• L.L.M., European Union Law and European Legal History, University of Cambridge
• B.A. in Law, University of Tehran
• Graduate of Madrasat Tahfidh al-Qur’an al-Karim (Mecca)

Research: Her book manuscript, Towards Islamic Legal Realism: Rethinking Slavery, Marriage and Divorce in Islamic Law, critiques traditional Islamic legal frameworks on slavery and gender inequality, proposing reforms for post-divorce property rights and abolition of slavery within Islamic law.

Affiliations:

• Visiting Assistant Professor, Boston University Law School
• Graduate Fellow, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (University of Oxford)
• Associate Research Scholar, Kamel Center for Islamic Law (Yale Law School)

Languages: Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, English.