Why did occidental modernity fail in the Arab Middle East: the failed modern state?

This thesis asks a straightforward but nevertheless a complex question, that is: Why did modernity fail in the Arab Middle East? The notion of modernity in this thesis signifies the occidental modernity which reached the region in many different forms and through various channels. This occidental modernity had an impact on many areas and changed the societies and politics of the region. But these changes stopped short of reaching modernity, in other words it failed to change the society from traditional to modem. The failure of the emergence of a modem society in the region has been a puzzle for those who work on the Middle East. There are plethora of theories, concepts and models attempting to demystify this puzzle. This thesis regards the emerged form of the States and the sovereign in the region as the prime cause behind this failure. The thesis advances a new way of conceptualising statehood and politics in the Middle East: the Failed Modem State (FMS). The key features of the FMS are as follows: the sovereign is the state; both modem and traditional elements are utilised by the state elites; the territory of the state is a space where roles and functions of everything changes. The main features which distinguish the FMS analysis from other analyses of the Middle East are as follows: it does not emphases' one area or aspect; it shows how both modem and traditional tools are necessary for the survival of the State; the Failed Modem State is neither modem nor traditional and resists being either. The FMS mages to reduce both modernity and traditional aspects into tools, this enables the FMS sovereigns to utilise both as instruments. Modem and traditional forces used by the FMS to balance the power, to justify acts, divide society and being able to rule it and conquer it. This makes reform and change difficult if not impossible

Sharia incorporated : a comparative overview of the legal systems of twelve muslim countries in past and present

Uitgebreid onderzoek wijst uit dat de roep om extreme sharia toch niet heeft geleid tot een algemene wending richting conservatisme in het geheel van rechtssystemen in moslimlanden. Sterker nog, uit een objectieve studie uitgevoerd door de Universiteit Leiden, blijkt juist dat in een aantal moslimlanden er een liberalisering heeft plaatsgevonden, vooral in het familierecht. Bovendien wijzen de onderzoekers in deze studie erop dat acceptatie van mensenrechten door moslimlanden aanmerkelijk is toegenomen, terwijl de uitvoering van wrede lijfstraffen zoals steniging en amputatie juist is afgenomen. Dit zijn slechts enkele van de ontwikkelingen die aangetoond worden in deze unieke publicatie over de verhouding tussen sharia en nationaal recht in twaalf moslimlanden. Sharia incorporated vergelijkt de theorie en de praktijk van de Sharia in de moslimwereld en draagt daarmee bij aan inzicht om een verstandig beleid te voeren "Sharia incorporated is essential reading for anyone who seeks a better informed, more nuanced picture of law in Muslim majority countries than we normally get. Without being starry-eyed, the country studies show the complexity of reconciling law with custom, and religious with secular laws. Sometimes violent Puritanism clashes with older forms of religious discourse, market economies affect older ways of life, and modern states struggle to make traditional and modern institutions cohere. If nothing else, this book offers a necessary antidote to glib thinking and ignorant prejudice." Ian Buruma Bekijk " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZbm_oluDWA ">hier een toelichting op het boek door Jan Michiel Otto. The aim of Sharia Incorporated is to provide unbiased and contextual information about a topic that has of late been hijacked by politics in the Muslim world as well as in the West. Sharia Incorporated, written by laudable international scholars, is an ambitious study of the incorporation of Islamic law traditions into national legal systems. The book also explores the sensitive topic of 'Western' human rights and other rule of law standards in a Muslim world. It provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sharia in the historical and legal formation of twelve representative Muslim states, with a unique comparison of key issues raised by the 'Islamic awakening' of recent decades. In the preface Jan Michiel Otto goes to the heart of the prevailing environment in which Western discourses tend to oversimplify the substance and effect of Islam and sharia. "Sharia incorporated is essential reading for anyone who seeks a better informed, more nuanced picture of law in Muslim majority countries than we normally get. Without being starry-eyed, the country studies show the complexity of reconciling law with custom, and religious with secular laws. Sometimes violent Puritanism clashes with older forms of religious discourse, market economies affect older ways of life, and modern states struggle to make traditional and modern institutions cohere. If nothing else, this book offers a necessary antidote to glib thinking and ignorant prejudice." Ian Buruma Watch a clarification on the book by Jan Michiel Otto" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu1yF_nhvVc "> her