이집트 가족법 대한 지식인들의 인식조사 연구

A Study on Egyptian Intellectuals" Understanding of the Egyptian Family Law

&nbsp;&nbsp;Muslims regard family law as the symbol of their identity as it is distinguished from other forms of law. Most Muslim countries was secularized since after the modernization process, heavily relied on western influences. However, family law in the Muslim countries are still remained intact, mostly following the Islamic law, Shari&quot;a. Even though some family laws seemed to be secularized under the process of secularization of a nation, the applications of the law are not totally free from tradition and Shari&quot;a. Family law was the only arena that was escaped from the western influences even in the situation when the most law was transformed following the western model under the colonial power.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Family law has been the central issue in such various fields as political, religious, and cultural realm, igniting debates between secular government/religious power, liberal moderates/religious conservatives, and men who want to maintain &quot;traditional patriarchy&quot; and women who eager to have more freedom. In the beginning of the modernization, modernists who overwhelmed the traditionalists supported introduction of the western family law as they saw it would protect women&quot;s right in home. However, with the success of Iranian revolution led by Khomeini in 1979, conservative religious trends were widely spread in the Muslim countries.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;I conducted interview with 18 people (12 women and six men) who were working in various fields from the 7 January to 24th in 2004. As for women, it includes lawyers from women&quot;s organization, researchers working in academic associations for women, scholars who were studying Shari&quot;a and sociology, and other intellectuals from various fields. As for men, it includes several lawyers from human right associations, scholars who were studying Shari&quot;a law, and intellectuals working in various fields. I recorded all the interviews that I conducted in order to explore their understandings and perceptions with regard to family law. I analysed the data collected in the field to investigate if there are any possibilities of transformations of family law in the future. The perceptions of intellectuals and its studying are significant as they can be a barometer which suggests the future of a society.