Lapin, T. W.

English

University of Baltimore School of Law

University of Baltimore Law ForumVolume 7Number 1 October, 1976 Article 410-1976Juro-Religious Showdown In EgyptT. W. LapinFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/lfPart of the Law CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion inUniversity of Baltimore Law Forum by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. For more information, pleasecontact snolan@ubalt.edu.Recommended CitationLapin, T. W. (1976) "Juro-Religious Showdown In Egypt," University of Baltimore Law Forum: Vol. 7 : No. 1 , Article 4.Available at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/lf/vol7/iss1/4JuroReligiousShowdownIn Egyptby T. W. LapinThe following is an update of trends inIslamic law explored by the author in ar-,ticles which appeared in the November11975, and March and April 1976 issuesof The Forum."Al-habl 'ala al-jarar" is an Arabic ex-pression meeting, literally, "the rope ison the tug." It is used to describe a situa-tion in which one event has set off achain of subsequent events in a kind oftug-of-war with no foreseeable end. TheArab-Israeli conflict is one such rope-tugger. Another is the conflict betweenthe conservative forces of traditionalistIslam and those who would bring Arabjudicial systems into step withtwentieth-century Western style legalthought. The author explores the later ofthese conflicts.The consumption of alcoholic bever-ages was forbidden to Muslims by theirreligion-and hence by law-from thebeginning of Islam in the seventh cen-tury A.D. Through the years this prohibi-tion has often been winked at and evenopenly violated in many Muslim coun-tries. However, today liquor is still abso-lutely outlawed in Libya and in all statesof the Arabian Peninsula. Egypt was formany years an oasis in the "dry" ex-panses of the Arab East. As the ancientEgyptians are believed to have brewedas many as seventeen different varietiesof beer, it is possible that the "Land ofthe Nile" was the birthplace of that rich,foamy nectar. Today, large brown bot-ties of amber-colored Egyptian beer con-tinue to emerge from breweries bearingnames like "Stella" and "Helwan".However, Egyptian nationals may nolonger imbibe their soothing contents.The Volstead Act has gone international!Islam is the state religion of the ArabI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _photo by Chris MichaelRepublic of Egypt. Conservative reli-gious elements in the Maglis al-Umma(Egypt's Parliament) recently succeededin having enacted a law banning theconsumption of alcohol by Egyptians.This move is seen by many as an attemptby religious leaders to reestablish theircontrol over the Egyptian masses, whofor several years have been exposed tomodern Western social standards andideas, many of which conflict with theprecepts of traditional Islam. The urbanmiddle class especially has been affectedby liberal trends in such areas aswomen's rights and Europeanizedmodes of living, and it is presumably atthis group that the recent prohibition lawwas directed. The lower classes in Egypthave historically formed the most reli-gious element of Egyptian society. Assuch, any government attempts to re-route the moral standards of that socialstratum toward teetotalling would beunnecessary. In this writer's Egyptiandays (during the early and middle '70's)one was not allowed to carry even bot-ties of mineral water unwrapped in thestreets for fear of offending the religiousand social mores of those who mightmistake the innocent flasks of Evian andVichy for the hard stuff.The liquor law may soon prove to bemerely the tip of a larger iceberg of im-pending legislation aimed at the restora-tion of traditional Islamic law in Egypt.The Jordan Times reported in its July22nd issue a statement made by theEgyptian Minister of Religious Affairs,Muhammad Hassan el-Dahaby, whichwould seem to indicate the prevailingsentiment of the Arab Socialist Union,Egypt's only political party: "Our socialand economic problems will be solvedonly by implementing Islamic law."Other prominent Egyptians inter-viewed by The Jordan Times respondedin a similar vein. The Grand Imam AbdelHalim Mahmoud, rector of the 1007year old theological school, Al-AzharUniversity, is reported as saying: "Therewould be no theft in this country if one ortwo thieves had their right arm and leftleg chopped off, as prescribed in theQur'an." Conservative parliamentarianIsmail Matouk opined: "We have to goback to Islamic laws and Qur'anic teach-ings of morality. There is growing vio-lence and corruption of morals in thecountry. They can only be eliminated byimplementing religious teachings."Bills are either being prepared or arealready set before Parliament which in-clude demands for laws which wouldhave a Muslim flogged eighty times fordrinking alcohol or ten to twenty timesfor being seated at a table where othersare imbibing. More drastic suggestionsare for having adulterers stoned todeath, highway robbers crucified, for-bidding male hairdressers from combingwomen's hair, and prohibiting actorsfrom kissing actresses in films.The shift to religious conservatism inEgypt has delayed consideration of cer-tain important bills previously submittedto Parliament. Among these is a billwhich would give a Muslim woman theright to initiate divorce proceedings if herhusband has taken a second wife. Thisbill would also make it more difficult for aman to summarily divorce his wife. Al-though the bill was submitted to Parlia-ment two years ago, it was locked in con-troversy until Al-Axhar loyalists capitu-lated last February. A vital bill which hasfallen victim to the current rope-tuggingis that which would provide an effectivebirth control plan for Egypt, a seriouslyoverpopulated country where morethan one million babies are born eachyear. Islamic teachings stress that chil-dren are a gift from God, thereby imped-ing passage of the population-planninglegislation.Traditional Islamic values may alsoform a gentle barrier to economicprogress in Muslim countries. A Muslimfactory worker is well within his rights instopping the production line in order toperform his prayers at the proper times(as many as three of the five prayers in-cumbent upon the devout Muslim mayfall during the workday). Laws attempt-ing to restrict one's right to "prayerbreaks" would meet with insurmount-able resistance from Egypt's faithfulmillions.Yet some voices are being raised inopposition to the present trend towardthe establishment of a theocracy inEgypt. One of Egypt's most talentedwriters, Naguib Mahfouz, has stated that:"Religion is for God and the country forman. Islamic law was instituted centuriesago when state and religion were identi-cal. Those who clamor for its reinstitu-tion now should remember that we are aSocialist country." Mahfouz went on toblame the ills of his country on the "gapbetween crippling poverty and ex-travagant wealth," and stated thatpeople would not steal if they had allthey needed.Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a liberal Muslimsociologist, has summarized the view ofmany of his colleagues: "If we have tolive in the twentieth century with thementality of the seventh [century] wecan forget all about progress. Had theProphet [Muhammad] lived in our agehe would have modified the laws tomatch our times. The return to out-moded religious practices is an escapismfrom the frustrations of [the] modernage.Thus, the rope continues to be on thetug in the struggle between liberal andconservative forces in Egypt, but itwould appear that the conservatives aretugging just a bit harder.The Right of aCorporate Directorto InspectRecords UnderMaryland Lawby William WilburnINTRODUCTIONWhat are the rights of a director of aMaryland corporation to inspect corpo-rate books and records?While both the Maryland General As-sembly and the Court of Appeals haveremained silent as to the exact nature ofthese rights, inferences can be drawnfrom relevant statutory and case lawwhich indicate that a director of a Mary-land cororation does have an impliedright to inspect corporate records. Otherjurisdictions have limited what has beenfrequently, but somewhat erroneously,termed the "absolute" right of a directorto examine records.Before discussing any rights a directormay have to inspect records of a corpo-ration, it will be useful to consider a fewpreliminary issues. What constitutes "re-cords," why are they important, andwho is charged with their physical main-tainance and custody?A Maryland corporation, by statute, isrequired to "keep correct and completebooks and records of its accounts andtransactions and minutes of the proceed-ings of its stockholders and board ofdirectors." MD ANN CODE, Corp. &Ass' ns Art.§2-111 (1975) (hereinafter re-ferred to as the "Maryland Code" or the"Code" and cited as CA). Furthermore,the Code specifies what is to be consid-ered a "proper" keeping of these andothe records. CA §1-402. Because thewording of the Code, CA§2-111, seemsintentionally all- encompassing, it is safeto say that examples of items included in"accounts and transactions" under thatsection would be documents relating tocontracts entered into by the corpora-tion, stock issuances and balance sheets,wage charts, etc. Courts use such non-statutory, generic words as "accounts","books", and "records" to mean basi-cally the same types of documents en-visioned under the Code, CA §1-402.There is no discernible conflict betweenthe Code and the frequently used com-mon law synonyms as to what is a"record". Thus unless otherwisespecified, "records" refers to practicallyany corporate document bearing on thecorporate business.Such records are important becausethey are essential repositories of infor-mation about the corporation whichmust be available to and consulted by itsdirectors if they are to discharge theirstatutory and common law duties. Un-like a stockholder, whose rights to in-spect, and then only as to certain rec-ords, are explicit, CA§§2-512-13, thedirector's right to inspect is left unde-fined. A director is held to a strict stan-dard of care in the performance of his re-sponsibilities in connection with the cor-poration and its stockholders. Com-pliance with this high standard is difficult,if not impossible, without access to cor-porate records.Finally, as a logistical matter, the ques-tion arises of who maintains custody ofthese corporate records? Under Mary-land law, since the "corporation" mustkeep books and records, CA§2- 11,andsince the directors may exercise all thepowers of the corporation, CA §2-402, itwould seem that this vests the directorswith unqualified possessory rights, im-plying a right to inspect the same recordsthat they may possess. While this is atbest an implied statutory interpretationin support of the director's right to in-spect, it does not provide an adequatesummation of the reasons for, and thelimitations of, such rights..1 n

Juro-Religious Showdown In Egypt

bepress Legal Repository

https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1086&amp;context=lf

Juro-Religious Showdown In Egypt

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Baltimore School of Law

bepress Legal Repository