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21 Dartmouth L.J. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/dcujl21 and id is 1 raw text is: ARAFA EGYPTIAN INTERRELIGIOUS LAW: PUBLIC POLICY OR SHARIE'A DOMINION? MOHAMED 'ARAFAt Egypt has preserved the Islamic system of interreligious law under which Muslim, Christian, and Jewish societies are each governed by their own courts and their own laws. Over the course of the 20th century, however, these separate courts were abolished, and the application of non-Muslim laws was limited to matters of marriage and divorce, and even then, only if the non-Muslim spouses shared the rite and sect of the same religion. In all other cases, Islamic law (Sharie a) applies. In addition, non- Muslim laws may not be applied if they infringe on Egypt's public policy,' which includes principles that are indispensable in Islamic law. This Article will analyze the status of the non-Muslim Egyptian in modern personal status law based on Egyptian case law and legal literature. The concept of public policy plays a key role in understanding the mechanics of interreligious law in Egypt. I argue that public policy serves as a legal barometer of the coexistence between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Egypt. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 2 A. Justice under Sharie'a Law: Modern Practices of Muslim Nations 3 II. SHARIE'A COURTS IN EGYPT: STILL THERE OR ABOLISHED? 6 A. Literature Review: Early Sharie'a Courts 6 B. The Legal Framework: Interreligious Law, Islamic Law, and the Conflict of Laws 12 1. Legal Status of Non-Muslims (Dhimms) 13 2. The Islamic Jurisdiction: The Applicable Law for Religious Conversions 14 III. SHARIE'A COURTS OR ISLAMIC JUDICIAL BODIES IN THE WEST: ARE THEY EVIL? 15 IV. PUBLIC POLICY CONCERNS: WHAT IS ISLAMIC PUBLIC POLICY IN SHARIE'A COURTS? 18 V. CONCLUSION: THE FACE, THE BACK, AND THE FUTURE OF THE SHARIE'A COURTS 20 t Professor of Law at Alexandria University Faculty of Law (Egypt); Adjunct Professor of Law and the Clarke Initiative Visiting Scholar at Cornell Law School. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Dartmouth Law Journal's editors for their outstanding editing! 1

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