SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Three key themes—Islamic principles, international human rights conventions, and the realities of Moroccan society—framed the Moroccan Family Law (Mudawwana) reform of 2004. However, ijtihād (process of legal reasoning) was the only way to justify the reforms and introduce them on the basis of sharia, which underlies the Moroccan Family Law. As the highest religious and political authority in Morocco, the king’s authority to exercise ijtihād based on his status as the Commander of the Faithful (Amīr al-Mu’minīn) not only legitimized the reform, but also determined its direction. This study examines the role of ijtihād in the Moroccan 2004 reforms by focusing on the perception of ijtihād and its justifications, the position of the Royal Advisory Commission, which was in charge of the reform, and the power of the notion of amīr al-mu’minīn, locating the reforms in a context of wider religious restructuring in Morocco.