Date of Award

Spring 2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Humanities

Committee Director

Peter Schulman

Committee Member

David Earnest

Committee Member

Chandra de Silva

Abstract

This work examines the juridical aspects of the current Egyptian and Tunisian Constitutions adopted after the Arab Spring. Along with the legal analysis of these two manifestations one more element is also a subject of this commentary – possible political issues that can surface from the interpretation of some controversial articles. The second part of this study focuses on the compatibility between the premises of the Islamic Sharia, the Islamic culture and tradition, and the core values of the contemporary modern democratic states. Moreover, it addresses some of the problematic moments within the discourse whether or not the Quran evokes discrimination policies. The conclusions I was able to derive, link the above mentioned practices with centuries old customs and beliefs in the Islamic societies. I also maintain that any violations of women’s right and religious minorities in Islamic countries are not inherently related or prescribed by particular parts of the Quran. The latter was utilized as a source of civil norms in times when no other legislation was known. Despite the fact that it had its applicability in the past, its role has to be passed on civil codes in which no room for ambiguous interpretations of texts should be allowed. The last part of this work focuses on some patterns that the events before, during and after the Arab Spring have revealed. By connecting historical and political facts of earlier periods to the tensions in Egypt and Tunisia after the fall of the autocratic regimes, I aim to draw some deductions for the stability of the democratic and the juridical goals in the future of these two states.

Rights

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DOI

10.25777/8b3j-k608

ISBN

9781339893181

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