Of Neocolonialism, Common Law and Uncodifiable Shari'a: A Reply to Professor An-Na'Im

Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 2, 2007

U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 07-20

8 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2007 Last revised: 16 Dec 2009

See all articles by Paul H. Robinson

Paul H. Robinson

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Adnan A. Zulfiqar

Rutgers Law School

Abstract

In an earlier article -- Robinson et al., Codifying Shari'a: International Norms, Legality & the Freedom to Invent New Forms, http://ssrn.com/abstract=941443 -- the authors report the challenges and opportunities that arose during their commission by the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of the Maldives to produce the first modern comprehensive criminal code based upon Shari'a.

In this brief essay they respond to published criticisms of that project, which asserted, among other things, that Shari'a cannot be codified, that it should not be codified, that the project was a shameful exercise in neocolonialism, that the project was an act of oppression in complicity with an insufficiently democratic government, and that the project was done badly because it got Shari'a wrong, because it sometimes did not follow Shari'a, or because it was insufficiently sensitive to the methodology and process inherent in Shari'a.

Keywords: Islamic Model Penal Code, Shari'a, United Nations Development Program, Republic of the Maldives, codified penal law, sentencing guidelines, international norms, Muslim, drafting, criminal law and procedure

Suggested Citation

Robinson, Paul H. and Zulfiqar, Adnan, Of Neocolonialism, Common Law and Uncodifiable Shari'a: A Reply to Professor An-Na'Im. Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 2, 2007, U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 07-20 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=982855

Paul H. Robinson (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ( email )

3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Adnan Zulfiqar

Rutgers Law School ( email )

217 N. 5th Street
Camden, NJ 08102
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
320
Abstract Views
2,845
Rank
172,787
PlumX Metrics