This fall, Adnan Zulfiqar, who specializes in criminal law, Islamic law and laws of war, joins the faculty of Rutgers Law School at the Camden location.

He joins Rutgers Law from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a George Sharswood Fellow. Prior to that, he was selected as a Fellow by the Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation. He previously consulted with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), helping draft penal codes and commentaries for the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Republic of the Maldives.

This fall, he will be teaching Criminal Procedure – Investigations and in the spring he will be teaching Criminal Law and he said he hopes to become involved with Rutgers Law School’s pro bono program.

“My two primary areas of scholarship right now are criminal law and Islamic law. In both areas, I hope to use my scholarship to engage some of today’s most pressing issues. Hence, in criminal law, I’m interested in exploring matters relating to the impact of over-criminalization and abuse of authority on the core societal trust required for our legal system to function,” he said. “For Islamic law, my research centers around better understanding the challenges that arise from the dominant role played in modern times by a legal tradition crafted in the premodern era, with specific focus on matters relating to war, revolution and violence.”

Professor Zulfiqar is an experienced media commentator on global issues, especially relating to the Middle East.

He also worked as an Associate in the Investigations, White Collar and Fraud Group at Hogan Lovells, LLP (Washington, D.C.) and was a Legislative Staffer for U.S. Senator Max Cleland (D-GA). He is currently a Fellow at the Truman National Security Project, speaks multiple languages and has spent over a decade in the Middle East, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Zulfiqar said he is excited to join Rutgers, which has “a great vision for the future, engaged leadership, a diverse student body and leading thinkers in various fields” but was also struck by his interaction with the faculty during his interviews.

“It was the faculty’s unique combination of scholarly brilliance and sincere collegiality that convinced me this was the place for me,” he said. “I received some of the most incisive and thoughtful questions on my research during my visit to Rutgers and I recognized this was a place I could truly grow as a scholar and teacher.”

He received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has an M.L.S. in International Affairs (Georgetown) and M.A. in Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations (UPenn). He is currently completing his Ph.D. dissertation on collective duties in Islamic law, with a specific focus on jihad and social responsibility, at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Outside of work, he founded a small humanitarian relief organization in Malawi, Africa about 10 years ago, which focuses on drought and flood relief, post-disaster reconstruction and support for orphans. He is an avid martial artist, training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and father to three young children.