Chibli Mallat – författare

Saudi Arabia has never commanded more attention and yet it remains one of the world's least understood countries. In The Normalization of Saudi Law, Chibli Mallat dives into the heart of Saudi society, politics, and business by exploring the workings of its courts. Legal practitioners and scholars will find a comprehensive analysis of the law's operation in the kingdom. The practitioner will access full thematic coverage of all important fields: judicial organization, contracts and torts, crime, family, property, administration, commerce, companies, banking, insolvency, the stock market, the constitution, succession, and human rights, with major statutes and a large number of court decisions distilled in 16 chapters. The scholar is presented with an assessment of a dynamic legal process, a 'normalization' of Saudi law where developing norms are both 'normal' (usual) and 'normative' (carrying moral force). This includes judges reshaping Islamic law by applying it in everyday transactions and disputes as they interpret classical treatises and modern statutes. In whole, The Normalization of Saudi Law paints a compelling picture of a fast-changing country. The book is a systematic study of Saudi law over nearly a decade, and its analysis draws from Mallat's involvement as a legal expert in landmark decisions around the world and as a law professor in leading universities in the Middle East, Europe, and America. The book reflects his work with Saudi law students and practicing colleagues, from cases in commercial law to those involving government and human rights. The Normalization of Saudi Law will interest both readers following the fast-changing world of comparative law and those intrigued by Saudi Arabia.

This book provides an introduction to the laws of the Middle East, defining the contours of a field of study that deserves to be called 'Middle Eastern law'. It introduces Middle Eastern law as a reflection of legal styles, many of which are shared by Islamic law and the laws of Christian and Jewish Near Eastern communities. It offers a detailed survey of the foundations of Middle Eastern law, using court archives and an array of legal sources from the earliest records of Hammurabi to the massive compendia of law in the Islamic classical age through to the latest decisions of Middle Eastern high courts. It focuses on the way legislators and courts conceive of law and apply it in the Middle East. It builds on the author's extensive legal practice, with the aim of introducing the Middle Eastern law's main sources and concepts in a manner accessible to non-specialist legal scholars and practitioners alike. The book begins with an exploration of the depth and variety of Middle Eastern law, introducing the concepts of shari'a, fiqh, and qanun, (which all mean 'law'), and dwelling on Islamic law as the 'common law' of the Middle East. It provides a historical introduction to the contemporary Middle East, exploring political systems, constitutional law, judicial review, the laws of tort and obligations, commercial law (including Islamic banking, company law, capital markets, and commercial arbitration); and examines legislative reform in family law and the position of women in the legal system. The author considers the interaction between Islamic and Western laws and includes a bibliography designed for further research into the jurisdictions and themes explored throughout the book.

In 2011, the Middle East saw more people peacefully protesting long entrenched dictatorships than at any time in its history. The dictators of Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen were deposed in a matter of weeks by nonviolent marches. Imprecisely described as 'the Arab Spring', the revolution has been convulsing the whole region ever since. Beyond an uneven course in different countries, Philosophy of Nonviolence examines how 2011 may have ushered in a fundamental break in world history. The break, the book argues, is animated by nonviolence as the new spirit of the philosophy of history.Philosophy of Nonviolence maps out a system articulating nonviolence in the revolution, the rule of constitutional law it yearns for, and the demand for accountability that inspired the revolution in the first place. Part One--Revolution, provides modern context to the generational revolt, probes the depth of Middle Eastern-Islamic humanism, and addresses the paradox posed by nonviolence to the 'perpetual peace' ideal. Part Two--Constitutionalism, explores the reconfiguration of legal norms and power structures, mechanisms of institutional change and constitution-making processes in pursuit of the nonviolent anima. Part Three--Justice, covers the broadening concept of dictatorship as crime against humanity, an essential part of the philosophy of nonviolence. It follows its frustrated emergence in the French revolution, its development in the Middle East since 1860 through the trials of Arab dictators, the pyramid of accountability post-dictatorship, and the scope of foreign intervention in nonviolent revolutions. Throughout the text, Professor Mallat maintains thoroughly abstract and philosophical arguments, while substantiating those arguments in historical context enriched by a close participation in the ongoing Middle East revolution.

This book provides an introduction to the laws of the Middle East, defining the contours of a field of study that deserves to be called 'Middle Eastern law'. It introduces Middle Eastern law as a reflection of legal styles, many of which are shared by Islamic law and the laws of Christian and Jewish Near Eastern communities. It offers a detailed survey of the foundations of Middle Eastern Law, using court archives and an array of legal sources from the earliest records of Hammurabi to the massive compendia of law in the Islamic classical age through to the latest decisions of Middle Eastern high courts. It focuses on the way legislators and courts conceive of law and apply it in the Middle East. It builds on the author's extensive legal practice, with the aim of introducing the Middle Eastern law's main sources and concepts in a manner accessible to non-specialist legal scholars and practitioners alike. The book begins with an exploration of the depth and variety of Middle Eastern law, introducing the concepts of shari'a, fiqh, and qanun, (which all mean 'law'), and dwelling on Islamic law as the 'common law' of the Middle East. It provides a historical introduction to the contemporary Middle East, exploring political systems, constitutional law, judicial review, the laws of tort and obligations, commercial law (including Islamic banking, company law, capital markets, and commercial arbitration); and examines legislative reform in family law and the position of women in the legal system. The author considers the interaction between Islamic and Western laws and includes a bibliography designed for further research into the jurisdictions and themes explored throughout the book.

This is the first comprehensive study of the life and works of Muhammad Baqer as-Sadr - an Iraqi scholar who made an important contribution to the renewal of Islamic law and politics in the contemporary Middle East. Executed in 1980, Sadr was the most articulate thinker and a major political actor in the revival of Shi'i learning, which placed Najaf in Southern Iraq at its centre. Dr Chibli Mallat examines the intellectual development of Sadr and his companions who included Ruhullah al-Khumaini and assesses Sadr's innovative approaches to the study of law, economics and banking. The author convincingly demonstrates how Sadr's ideas and activities were influential in the rise of political Islam across the Middle East and played an important part in the Iranian revolution of 1979.

Musa Sadr was a leading force in Lebanese politics from the early 1960s until his disappearance in Libya in 1978. Like now, this was a time of turmoil, violence, and change in the Middle East. Sadr has been portrayed as primarily a charismatic man of action whose inspirational qualities led Lebanon's Shia Muslims to the centre of the political stage. This book also reflects his position as a thinker whose actions were firmly rooted in universal ethical and religious values, and for whom Islam was social philosophy as well as faith. With twelve texts taken from lectures or talks given by Sadr between 1966-1977, an introduction, and a chronology of Sadr's life, the book situates Sadr within currents of humanist intellectual thought. Detailed contextualising footnotes accompany the translations, highlighting the enduring relevance and topicality of Sadr's ideas.

Musa Sadr was a leading force in Lebanese politics from the early 1960s until his disappearance in Libya in 1978. Like now, this was a time of turmoil, violence, and change in the Middle East. Sadr has been portrayed as primarily a charismatic man of action whose inspirational qualities led Lebanon's Shia Muslims to the centre of the political stage. This book also reflects his position as a thinker whose actions were firmly rooted in universal ethical and religious values, and for whom Islam was social philosophy as well as faith. With twelve texts taken from lectures or talks given by Sadr between 1966-1977, an introduction, and a chronology of Sadr's life, the book situates Sadr within currents of humanist intellectual thought. Detailed contextualising footnotes accompany the translations, highlighting the enduring relevance and topicality of Sadr's ideas.