The Egyptian Second Republic: The Future of Litigating Islam Before the Supreme Constitutional Court

Adham A. Hashish 

Alexandria University Faculty of Law
June 9, 2013

Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law, Volume 5, Issue 1, 4 (2013) 
Abstract:      

This article explores the future of litigating Islam in the Egyptian Second Republic. In particular it discusses the role that the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt can play in paving the way for a pluralistic understanding of Islam after the Arab Spring. While reviewing the constitutionality of the legislation, the Court’s interpretation of the Shari’a Clause and how it will affect the legal system will be vital in defining the relationship between Islam and the state and what role Islam will play in the public sphere. This article explores how litigating Islam before the SCC will reveal a form of governance that is neither secular (as in Turkey) nor theocratic (as in Iran). Rather, it will reveal a civic state with an Islamic identity that is based in Intell-political Islam rather than theo-political Islam.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 47

Keywords: Sharia, Islamic Law, Constitution, Egypt, Arab Spring, Comparative and Foreign Law, Law and Society, Religion Law, Supreme Court, Political Islam

Full text available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2587410