At the other end of the spectrum, and in contrast to the interventionist policies of strong Arab regimes, Islamic institutions in conflict-torn Arab states have fragmented or become prizes for competing political and military factions. In Libya, Syria and Yemen, the journey of Islamic ministries, schools, youth camps, foundations and charities has followed the collapse of the dissolution of state and territory caused by civil wars in these countries. In their respective areas of control, rump governments and opposition groups have established parallel and rival religious bodies, sometimes more localized and autonomous because their political supervisors do not have sufficient resources to co-opt them. Islamic institutions in such conflict situations are often much more susceptible to foreign economic and ideological influence, both from regional powers waging proxy warfare and from Western states. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Arab Middle East underwent decisive changes that affected the region`s legal systems. The Ottoman rulers were replaced by Europeans. The territories retaken by the Ottomans were divided between the United Kingdom and France in 1916 under the Asia Minor Agreement (also known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement). Although the extent of European colonial hegemony in Arab legal systems varies from region to region, the imposition, adoption and imitation of European legislative models varies from region to region. For example, during their tenure in Iraq (1920-1932), the British applied various laws derived from Ottoman, French, and Anglo-Indian colonial laws, while customary tribal law was enforced in the countryside.17 In Transjordan and Iraq, Ottoman legislation remained partially in force. In Palestine (1922-1948), English judges applied mejelle and a colonial version of British law.18 Secularism. Muslim countries where the government is formally secular include Azerbaijan, Chad, Senegal, Somalia, Tajikistan and Turkey. Nevertheless, Islamist parties run for office and sometimes take power in these countries. Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is an example of this.

8 Marwan Muasher and Maha Yahya, “A Coming Decade of Arab Decisions,” in The Day After: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, p. 9. September 2020, carnegieendowment.org/2020/09/09/coming-decade-of-arab-decisions-pub-82506. This article examines the judicial role in the region from the 19th century onwards and focuses on the impact of Western law on the region with a focus on Ottoman legal reforms in the Arab region between 1839 – 1876 and the period after Ottoman decline in the 20th century. The legal history of the Arab region spans a millennium, and any attempt to cover this in a short article cannot grasp all the historical complexities and will necessarily be limited and very superficial. Islamic, non-Islamic, Arab and Western legal developments have been enormous and have spread beyond the Arabic-speaking world. In this context, one of the main aims of this article is to provide a more nuanced overview of the historical evolution of the judicial role in the Arab world. The main source of law in Saudi Arabia is Islamic Sharia.

Sharia sources also include the Islamic scientific consensus developed after Muhammad`s death.