Shariah Law and American State Courts: An Assessment of State Appellate Court Cases

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This study evaluates published appellate legal cases that involved “conflict of law” issues between Shariah (Islamic law) and American state law.

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Table 3-Cases by Category

Category Number of Cases
Shariah Marriage Law 21
Child Custody 17
Shariah Contract Law 5
Shariah Doctrine 3
Shariah Property Law 2
Due Process/Equal Protection 1
Shariah Marriage Law/Child Custody 1

Table 4-Trial Court Shariah Compliant Decision

Shariah Compliant? Number of Cases
No 22
Yes 15
Indeterminate 9
Not Applicable 4

Table 5-Appellate Court Shariah Compliant Decision

Shariah Compliant? Number of Cases
No 23
Yes 12
Indeterminate 8
Not Applicable 7

Table 6 – Cases by Country Originating Conflict of Foreign Laws*

Country Number of Cases
Saudi Arabia 6
Iran 6
Lebanon 6
Egypt 4
Pakistan 3
Jordan 3
Morocco 3
India 2
Iraq 2
Afghanistan 1
Algeria 1
Gaza [sic] 1
Israel 1
Philippines 1
United Arab Emirates 1
Syria 1

*Total is less than total number of cases because some cases did not specify a specific country

Center for Security Policy

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