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Saudi King Moving To Reform Legal System

By Howard M. Friedman

An analysis published yesterday by Gerson Lehrman Group reports that Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is making progress in pushing through sweeping legal reform and codification to meet World Trade Organization and human rights standards.  The move which attempts to restrict fatwas and codify Islamic legal rules is designed to encourage foreign investment, standardize legal practice and grant enforcement powers to the courts. In response to a series of embarrassing fatwas, Abdullah has decreed that only members of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars can to issue fatwas. The analysis concludes:

The debate over the rules that govern the issuing of fatwas reflects King Abdullah's recognition and a growing body of public opinion that Wahhabisim, the kingdom's puritan version of Islam, hinders the development of a modern state capable of competing in the 21st century and catering to people's needs. Five years ago, bizarre and obscure fatwas would have been seriously debated rather than ridiculed and condemned.

Many Saudi clergymen have yet to recognize that Abdullah's legal reform offers them an opportunity to consolidate their influence. Yet, they seem more intent on scoring own goals that undermine their public credibility and ultimately could signal the decline of clerical power in Saudi Arabia. In doing so, the clergy could be opening the door for the House of Saud to identify new sources of legitimacy that go beyond their historical reliance on Wahhabism.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 11, 2010 (boomark / email).