Changing God Law ─ The Dynamics of Middle Eastern Family Law

This volume identifies and elaborates on the significance and functions of the various actors involved in the development of family law in the Middle East. Besides the importance of family law regulations for each individual, family law has become the battleground of political and social contestation. Divided into four parts, the collection presents a general overview and analysis of the development of family law in the region and provides insights into the broader context of family law reform, before offering examples of legal development realised by codification drawn from a selection of Gulf states, Iran, and Egypt. It then goes on to present a thorough analysis of the role of the judiciary in the process of lawmaking, before discussing ways the parties themselves may have shaped and do shape the law. Including contributions from leading authors of Middle Eastern law, this timely volume brings together many isolated aspects of legal development and offers a comprehensive picture on this topical subject. It will be of interest to scholars and academics of family law and religion.

Nadjma Yassari is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg where she heads the Department for the Laws of Islamic Countries. In April 2009, Nadjma Yassari established the Max-Planck Research Group "Changes in God’s Law: An Inner Islamic Comparison of Family and Succession Laws" which she has been leading since. Her main fields of research are national and private international law of Islamic countries, in particular the Arab Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan with a special focus on family and successions law.