Abstract
The principal object of this Article is to demonstrate that Islamic law, like any system of law, is dynamic rather than static. Islamic law cannot be thought of as law disconnected from history and society. Like any other legal system, it is influenced by political, economic and social factors. In order to illustrate this idea, this Article takes as a case study the rulings concerning custody of the Shari'a Appeals Court in Israel. This Article surveys the rulings of the Shari'a Appeals Court addressing child custody from 1992 through 2001. This Article's central claim is that the Appeals Court's approach to child custody underwent a metamorphosis during that period. In Part I, I will analyze the essential features of this transition. This will require an examination of classical Islamic law's treatment of custody, specifically the Hanafi school's treatment of it. I will focus on the new interpretation that the Shari'a Appeals Court gave to custody. In Part II, I will offer an explanation for this transition.
Recommended Citation
Moussa Abou Ramadan,
The Transition from Tradition to Reform: The Shari'a Appeals Court Rulings on Child Custody (1992-2001),
26 Fordham Int'l L.J. 595
(2002).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol26/iss3/5