PHD Discussions Logo

Ask, Learn and Accelerate in your PhD Research

Question Icon Post Your Answer

Question Icon

4 months ago in Islamic Law , Law By Suresh

Is sharia law going to replace arab governments, or the other way around?

I'm writing a comparative politics chapter on governance models in the post-Arab Spring context. The binary framing in media that it's either "Sharia rule" or "secular rule" feels analytically weak. What I'm observing in my case studies (Egypt, UAE, Saudi) looks more like mutual adaptation. I need a more sophisticated framework to describe whether religious law is subordinating the state, or if the state is absorbing and bureaucratizing religious authority.

 

All Answers (2 Answers In All)

By Shubham Answered 2 months ago

It's not a fight to the death it's a slow, messy negotiation. Modern Arab states were built on European models of sovereignty, but they've all incorporated Sharia to varying degrees. In Saudi Arabia, it's the law. In Egypt, it's *a* source of law. In Tunisia, it's been heavily restricted. Neither side is demolishing the other. States reinterpret religious law to fit governance, and religious scholars push back. It's an ongoing adaptation, not a zero-sum war.

By Binsee Answered 2 months ago

From my fieldwork and archival research across several Arab states, I would caution against framing this as replacement at all. What I have observed, from Morocco to the Gulf, is a phenomenon of co-constitution. Modern Arab states, even self-described secular ones, never fully excluded Sharia; they codified and proceduralized it within state institutions family law courts, constitutional clauses, religious ministries. Simultaneously, Sharia is not a fixed code waiting to take over. It is being interpreted and applied by state-trained jurists. So rather than replacement, we are seeing an ongoing negotiation over who holds the authoritative voice within a shared legal and political space.

 

Your Answer