Ideology, law, and social control: The case of Islamic fundamentalism in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

In discussions of crime and justice we sometimes look to the criminal justice systems of other countries for innovative and creative alternatives to our own methods of dealing with crime. Notwithstanding the value of this endeavor, when it comes to adopting practices from other social and cultural contexts, some critical issues are often overlooked. The purpose of this article is to bring attention to some of these issues. Three major themes draw this article together. First, the effectiveness of formal social control mechanisms is reliant upon the ideological context from which they originate. Second, the relative legitimacy and influence of any one type of ideology is dependent upon the root‐source of the ideology. Finally, it will be argued that one cannot simply import selected aspects of law or legal mechanisms into another socio‐political context and expect that they will have the same influence as they have had in their respective context of origin. These themes will be illustrated through an examination of Islamic Fundamentalism in Saudi Arabia — a country chosen because it uniquely exemplifies the major themes of this paper.