Reforming Family Law
Social and Political Change in Jordan and Morocco

Implementation of Islamic family law varies widely across North Africa and the Middle East, here Dörthe Engelcke explores the reasons for this.

Dörthe Engelcke (Author)

9781108496612, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 March 2019

284 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm, 0.52 kg

'Reforming Family Law will be a great resource to Middle East studies scholars. It is clear that the book is the result of meticulous research … And one of the strengths of the book comes from the semi-structured interviews with judges, clerks, and members of religious and civil government units, women's groups, and Islamist organizations that animate and challenge state narratives about family law reform. The book will prove generative in both undergraduate and graduate seminars on the Middle East and North Africa.' Eda Pepi, International Journal of Middle East Studies

As the only area of law that is still commonly termed 'Islamic law', family law is one of the most sensitive and controversial legal areas in all Muslim-majority countries. Morocco and Jordan both issued new family codes in the 2000s, but there are a number of differences in the ways these two states engaged in reform. These include how the reform was carried out, the content of the new family codes, and the way the new laws are applied. Based on extensive fieldwork and rich in sources, this book examines why these two ostensibly similar semi-authoritarian regimes varied so significantly in their engagement with family law. Dörthe Engelcke demonstrates that the structure of the legal systems, shaped by colonial policies, had an effect on how reform processes were carried out as well as the content and the application of family law.

1. Introduction
2. Colonial legal legacies and state-building
3. The contemporary legal systems
4. The impact of international law
5. The process of family law reform in Jordan
6. The process of family law reform in Morocco
7. Contested issues of Jordanian family law
8. Contested issues of Moroccan family law
9. The implementation of the 2004 law: the prevalence of multiple normativities
10. Conclusion
Index.

Subject Areas: Family law: marriage & divorce [LNMB], Family law [LNM], Politics & government [JP]