The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms,
<p dir="ltr">This article examines the role of religious law in the context of modern state formation in the Arabian Gulf sheikhdoms. It focuses on Qatar, where a dual legal system emerged out of contestations over political community in the aftermath of imperialism and oil. From the...
محفوظ في:
| المؤلف الرئيسي: | |
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| منشور في: |
2025
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| الموضوعات: | |
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إضافة وسم
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| _version_ | 1864513525501657088 |
|---|---|
| author | Alexandre Caeiro (22928890) |
| author_facet | Alexandre Caeiro (22928890) |
| author_role | author |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv | Alexandre Caeiro (22928890) |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv | 2025-09-15T09:00:00Z |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv | 10.1017/s0738248025101144 |
| dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv | https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/The_Appeal_of_Religious_Law_Jurisdictional_Politics_and_Modern_State_Formation_in_the_Gulf_Sheikhdoms_/30971662 |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv | Human society Political science Law and legal studies International and comparative law Philosophy and religious studies Religious studies Religious Law Sharia Law Civil Judiciary Dual Legal System Modern State Formation |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv | Text Journal contribution info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion text contribution to journal |
| description | <p dir="ltr">This article examines the role of religious law in the context of modern state formation in the Arabian Gulf sheikhdoms. It focuses on Qatar, where a dual legal system emerged out of contestations over political community in the aftermath of imperialism and oil. From the mid-twentieth century onward, the ruling family empowered both a sharia and a civil judiciary without fully clarifying the jurisdictional boundaries between the two judiciaries. Until the 2003 unification of the judiciary, litigants were seemingly free to take civil and criminal cases to a court of their choice. I suggest that the appeal of Qatar’s Sharia Courts lay primarily in the socially embedded nature of Islamic legal practice, the extra-legal functions fulfilled by sharia judges, and the transnational networks of Islamic institutions. While the appeal of the sharia was partly produced by the state, Islamic legal institutions also drew force from their oppositional stance toward modern state power. The Qatari case shows how legal actors can secure state recognition by positioning themselves as authentic cultural mediators against the alienating structures of modern bureaucracy when they offer an alternative model of justice grounded in a dense network of social relations and the provision of a wide range of services.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Law and History Review<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0738248025101144" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0738248025101144</a></p> |
| eu_rights_str_mv | openAccess |
| id | Manara2_dd48cbf04ef696fe33e96553ee24937d |
| identifier_str_mv | 10.1017/s0738248025101144 |
| network_acronym_str | Manara2 |
| network_name_str | Manara2 |
| oai_identifier_str | oai:figshare.com:article/30971662 |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| repository.mail.fl_str_mv | |
| repository.name.fl_str_mv | |
| repository_id_str | |
| rights_invalid_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 |
| spelling | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms,Alexandre Caeiro (22928890)Human societyPolitical scienceLaw and legal studiesInternational and comparative lawPhilosophy and religious studiesReligious studiesReligious LawSharia LawCivil JudiciaryDual Legal SystemModern State Formation<p dir="ltr">This article examines the role of religious law in the context of modern state formation in the Arabian Gulf sheikhdoms. It focuses on Qatar, where a dual legal system emerged out of contestations over political community in the aftermath of imperialism and oil. From the mid-twentieth century onward, the ruling family empowered both a sharia and a civil judiciary without fully clarifying the jurisdictional boundaries between the two judiciaries. Until the 2003 unification of the judiciary, litigants were seemingly free to take civil and criminal cases to a court of their choice. I suggest that the appeal of Qatar’s Sharia Courts lay primarily in the socially embedded nature of Islamic legal practice, the extra-legal functions fulfilled by sharia judges, and the transnational networks of Islamic institutions. While the appeal of the sharia was partly produced by the state, Islamic legal institutions also drew force from their oppositional stance toward modern state power. The Qatari case shows how legal actors can secure state recognition by positioning themselves as authentic cultural mediators against the alienating structures of modern bureaucracy when they offer an alternative model of justice grounded in a dense network of social relations and the provision of a wide range of services.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Law and History Review<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0738248025101144" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0738248025101144</a></p>2025-09-15T09:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1017/s0738248025101144https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/The_Appeal_of_Religious_Law_Jurisdictional_Politics_and_Modern_State_Formation_in_the_Gulf_Sheikhdoms_/30971662CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/309716622025-09-15T09:00:00Z |
| spellingShingle | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, Alexandre Caeiro (22928890) Human society Political science Law and legal studies International and comparative law Philosophy and religious studies Religious studies Religious Law Sharia Law Civil Judiciary Dual Legal System Modern State Formation |
| status_str | publishedVersion |
| title | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| title_full | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| title_fullStr | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| title_short | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| title_sort | The Appeal of Religious Law: Jurisdictional Politics and Modern State Formation in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, |
| topic | Human society Political science Law and legal studies International and comparative law Philosophy and religious studies Religious studies Religious Law Sharia Law Civil Judiciary Dual Legal System Modern State Formation |