Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia (Studies in Islamic Law and Society)

Based on years of research in Saudi Arabia, this volume investigates the legal system of Saudi Arabia both for its own sake and as a case-study of an Islamic legal system. As a study of Saudi Arabia, it is the first extensive treatment in English of the constitution and Islamic court system of Saudi Arabia. As a study of an existing legal system in continuity with past Islamic law and practice, it sheds new light on Islamic legal doctrine, practice, and institutions, correcting for past scholarly neglect of Islamic law's application. The book develops a framework of concepts, rooted in both Islamic and western legal theory, useful for the comparative description and analysis of Islamic legal systems and applications, past and present. Through his analysis, Vogel (Harvard Law School) develops a framework of concepts, rooted in both Islamic and western legal theory, useful for the comparative description and analysis of Islamic legal systems and applications, past and present. He draws on five years of research in which he investigated the Kingdom's legal system both for its own sake and as a series of case studies of the application of an Islamic legal system. Case studies were selected for their usefulness of comparison to western law. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR This is the first extensive English-language study of the Islamic legal system of Saudi Arabia. Analyzing the system in both Islamic and Western terms, the book yields profound new insight into Islamic legal doctrine, practice, and institutions. This volume offers an examination of the legal system of Saudi Arabia, not only for its own sake but also as a case study for insight into past and present Islamic legal systems