This week’s issue of the Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal includes:
“Security Design, Incentives, and Islamic Microfinance: Cross Country Evidence” by Yaoyao Fan, Kose John, Hong Liu, and Luqyan Tamanni
This study finds that Sharia-compliant microfinance institutions have less credit risk than conventional ones, have better poverty outreach, are less likely to ‘mission drift,’ but are also less profitable and financially sustainable.
“Legal Instrumentalisation, Social Engineering and Islamic Law in Turkey and Pakistan” by Ihsan Yilmaz
Pakistan and Turkey have had completely different trajectories in their approach to Islamic law. The staunchly secularist Kemalist Turkish state tried to ‘cleanse’ the public sphere of Muslim laws by transplanting the Swiss Civil Code and completely disregarding Muslim laws. On the other hand, Pakistan’s similarly secular civilizing elite could not jettison Islamic laws because creating a pure state for Muslims (Pak-istan) was the justification of their partition from India. This paper examines legal pluralism and attempts to reform the laws in both countries, and how these efforts face similar resistance from some segments of society.
“The Story of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts: A Retrospective” by Jayanth K. Krishnan
Can Western-based, English-speaking, common law commercial courts operate successfully in an environment that are not their own—such as in the Middle East? The paper presents a history of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts based on interviews and court judgments.
“Pakistan: The State of Liberal Democracy” by Moeen Cheema
This paper examines how, over the last three decades, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has evolved from a peripheral state institution to a key player mediating the balance of powers in a deeply divided and politically fragmented polity.