Culture Arena
English
- English
- فارسی
Egypt · Politics & Government · Hard
What is the name of the constitutional principle — enshrined in Article 2 — that makes the principles of Islamic Sharia 'the main source' (not 'a main source' or 'the sole source') of legislation?
Answer: The Sharia-as-source clause — The constitutional wording 'mabādi' al-sharī'a al-islāmiyya al-maṣdar al-ra'īsī li-l-tashrī'' ('the principles of Islamic Sharia are the chief source of legislation') was amended from the 1971 text (which said 'a principal source') to 'the principal source' in 1980 under Sadat — the Supreme Constitutional Court has interpreted this narrowly to mean only those sharia principles that are 'definitive in source and meaning', allowing a secular legal order to coexist alongside it.
- A The Islamic reservation clause
- B The religious law supremacy article
- C The mabda' al-shari'a formula
- D The Sharia-as-source clause ✓
The constitutional wording 'mabādi' al-sharī'a al-islāmiyya al-maṣdar al-ra'īsī li-l-tashrī'' ('the principles of Islamic Sharia are the chief source of legislation') was amended from the 1971 text (which said 'a principal source') to 'the principal source' in 1980 under Sadat — the Supreme Constitutional Court has interpreted this narrowly to mean only those sharia principles that are 'definitive in source and meaning', allowing a secular legal order to coexist alongside it.