The last category includes those Muslim countries which do not fall into any of the previously mentioned classes.
There are two countries whose legal codes, while being based on the civilian systems, are not directly or historically connected with the colonialism of France. These two countries are: Indonesia and Guinea- Bissau.
The legal system of Indonesia is based on the Roman- Dutch legislation, while in Guinea-Bissau; many laws were imported from Portugal. Both these two countries, however, have been influenced by the Napoleonic codes.
Classification on the Basis of Tradition vs. Modernity
ADVERTISEMENTS:
When the power of the Muslim States began to decline in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the European secularism caught the imagination of the elites in the Muslim world.
From then on there were some powerful arguments for the modernization of Muslim societies on European patterns throughout the Muslim World.
This modernist-reformist faction included those Muslim scholars who had first-hand experience of the western cultures in India, Russia or the Middle East.
They had often been educated in the West or locally in the Westernised secular modern universities. In India, Lord Macaulay declared that Islamic legal system was outmoded and did not provide any justice whatsoever.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Some Muslim Indians too like Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, and his protege, Chiragh ‘Ali, advocated westernisation. In Russia, ‘Abd al-Qayyum Nasiri (1825-1902) advocated that Muslims had to model their societies on that of Russia.
In Iran, too, many young constitutionalists in the 1905-06 period advocated complete westernisation.
Sayed Hassan Taqizadeh, a renowned Iranian constitutionalist, was reputed to have said that Iranians had to “become European from head to foot”. These modernist groups termed themselves “progressive” and “enlightened”.
These campaigns for full westernisation and modernisation of Muslim societies made little impact. Other moderate reformist thinkers found better followings.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In Egypt, Shaikh Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) and his disciple, Rashid Rida, argued for a “progressive” evolution of the Islamic societies the world over.
The main aim of all these modernists was to demonstrate that Islamic teachings were compatible with the modern political and social principles as recognised by Western cultures.
Only fairly recently, voices have been raised for Islamisation of the society and a total rejection of western values. The decolonisation and purification of law in different Muslim countries is a very novel phenomenon.
On the basis of their ideological, theoretical and doctrinal approach to modernization, the Muslim countries of today can be classified into three types.