Law and Development in the Islamic World

Abstract This article examines the role of law and legal reform in the development of predominantly Muslim nation states. It understands both “law” and “development” from a pluralist perspective in which “law” intersects with culture, religion, and state regulation, and where “development” assumes a religious dimension in addition to material and economic progress. The diversity of the Islamic World is represented through a “core and periphery” analysis with case studies drawn from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Malaysia. We argue that Islamic law is only a part of the development process, and the role that Islam plays ebbs and flows, as a reaction to crises and international trends, as much as it reflects demographic realities. We also argue that economic development in the Islamic World is a broader reflection of geopolitics and the positioning of Muslim states in an increasingly unstable globalized, multipolar political, and economic order.