From Islamic to Middle Eastern Law A Restatement of the Field (Part I)

Any approach to law in the region known as Near or Middle East is doubly selective, as the historical depth of the tradition enhances the diversity of cultures active in the contemporary world. Law is a particular example where the contrasted set-up which characterizes twenty-five or so modern Nation-states is as much a product of a so- phisticated and ancient history as it is the result of heavy require- ments imposed by the pace of the recent transformation of the area. Western influence on Middle Eastern law in its contemporary opera- tion is pervasive. But whether in the Bible, the Qur'an, and earlier in Hammurabi's Code, concern with law is a century-old phenomenon.