Islamic Law
Islamic law is known as Sharia. It is based on the
• Koran, the holy book of Islam
• Sunnah. the deeds and sayings of Mohammed
• Interpretations of Islamic scholars
• Consensus of the legal community
In addition, Islamic law has been influenced by indigenous and tribal laws, such as Arab Bedouin law. commercial law from Mecca, agrarian law from Medina, and Jewish law.
In contrast to Western legal systems, Sharia encompasses the totality of religious, political, social, domestic, and private life. Sharia is concerned with ethics and moral issues rather than being limited to commercial law and regulations. Islamic law has been static for several centuries; no new interpretations have been allowed. As a result, Islamic law has almost no provisions to deal with modern international business practices and transactions such as credits and interest payments. Nevertheless, several Islamic countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Libya, have Islamic law as the ruling law. Any international manager doing business in an Islamic country needs to be aware of some of the practices of Sharia specifically as they relate to contracts, banking, and agency relationships. These aspects are discussed in greater detail later in this chapter. Not every country with a Muslim population follows Sharia. In Turkey, for example. 96 percent of the people are Muslims; however, Turkey does not use religious law. In the 1920s Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, deliberately set that nation on a course of westernization. In the process he removed Islamic law and replaced it with a mixture of I;rench and Swiss law. Today this system is modified to bring it in line with the European Union.
Islamic law applies to the practices of all individual Muslims, but it also covers foreigners living in an Islamic country. For example, Saudi women are not allowed to drive. This rule also applies to foreign women. Saudi women are not allowed to travel on their own. Similarly, Western women cannot travel alone in Saudi Arabia. The ban on the consumption of alcohol includes everyone, Saudis and expatriates. When Muslims travel abroad, they are not totally bound by Sharia, since Muslims recognize the practical difficulties of living by Sharia in other cultures.
The enforcement of Sharia varies from country to country, and businesspeople need to familiarize themselves with the specific rules for each country. Even in the strict
Legal and Governmental Considerations in Intercultural Business Communication 305countries, however, the enforcement of traditional Islamic law. such as the cutting off of the right hand for theft, is rare. Yet violating rc/igious (aw can have severe and un-expected consequences.
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