Forms of Islamic Statehood: Country Diversity

Abstract

In the twentieth century a large number of Muslim states gained independence from the former metropolises, in such countries the process of state building was launched with the accompanying formalization of the power structure. The legal systems of modern Islamic states are characterized by the dualism of law. Such specificity lies in the simultaneous coexistence and use of various legal norms that differ from each other in content and nature: the norms of classical law and the norms that were borrowed from foreign systems at one stage or another of historical development. The dual nature allows the legal systems of Islamic states to adapt to the constantly changing and developing economic, social and political environment.