Comparative Analysis of Islamic Law in Morocco and Algeria
By Angelica Hargreaves, New Age Islam
29 October 2025
Introduction
Islamic law (Sharīʿa) remains central to governance in many Muslim-majority states, though its incorporation into national legal systems differs widely. Morocco and Algeria, two neighbouring North African states with shared Maliki traditions and overlapping colonial histories, offer an instructive comparison. This essay examines their respective approaches to Islam and Islamic law, the branches of law where Sharīʿa is applied, the institutions responsible for its implementation, and the internal and external perceptions of each system. By doing so, it highlights how both states navigate the interplay between religious legitimacy, state authority, and modern legal frameworks.
1. Approach to Islam and Islamic Law
1.1 Morocco
The Moroccan state’s approach to Islam is characterised as a hybrid legal framework, blending Islamic law with civil and customary law. The 2011 Constitution declares Islam as the state religion (art 3) and designates the King as “Amīr al-Muʾminīn” (Commander of the Faithful) (art 41). This constitutional arrangement positions Islam in Morocco’s national identity not merely as a cultural marker but as the very foundation of governance. By sacralising the monarchy, the Constitution intertwines political sovereignty with spiritual authority and ensures that religious legitimacy underpins state power.
Islamic law in Morocco is firmly embedded with Maliki jurisprudence. The Maliki school, which represents one of the four major Sunni traditions, not only draws upon principles derived from the Qur’an and the Sunnah but also places significant emphasis on customary practices (Amal) and practical reasoning (Istiṣlāḥ). This flexibility allows jurists to incorporate local traditions into Islamic law, producing a distinctive legal culture that balances scriptural fidelity with social pragmatism.
The theological roots of Moroccan state practice within a tripartite identity that unites Maliki jurisprudence with Ashʿarī theology, and Sufi mysticism. Ashʿarī rationalism and Sufi spirituality reinforce the Maliki emphasis on custom and public interest, adding both doctrinal coherence and a moral ethos of peace and inclusivity. Together, these traditions furnish the state with a framework of legitimacy, as they embody the Qur’anic principle of Wasatiyyah (the “middle path”). Importantly, this principle denotes “moderation and balance (I‘tidāl) in belief, morality and character, in the manner of treating others and in the applied systems of socio-political order and governance”. By invoking this principle, the Moroccan monarchy can present legal reform as neither a rupture with tradition nor a capitulation to secular modernity, but as a justified continuation of Islamic moderation.
1.2 Algeria
Algeria adopts a more republican-containment approach to Islam and Islamic law. Unlike Morocco’s sacralised monarchy, Algeria’s unitary presidential system derives legitimacy from a framework that prioritises law, order, and state authority above competing religious or pluralistic claims. While Islam is affirmed in the 2020 Constitution as the state religion and central to the nation’s identity (art 2), a guarantee that, “freedom of creed and opinion as inviolable” is also expressed (art 42). However, this freedom is heavily qualified. It must be exercised only within the “boundaries of the law” and in conformity with public order and morality. Thereby permission is given to the state to restrict or reshape religious practice whenever it deems such expression a threat to political control or social cohesion.
While the Maliki school provides the cultural and jurisprudential framework for family law in Algeria, the state rejects theological pluralism as a basis of legitimacy. In divergence of Morocco’s tripartite synthesis of Maliki jurisprudence, Ashʿarī rationalism, and Sufi mysticism, Algeria anchors its approach in a republican framework that subordinates theology to state authority. The securitised management of religion can be explained by the civil conflict of the 1990s, often referred to as the “Black Decade”. In response to Islamist insurgencies challenging state authority and plunging the country into widespread violence, Algeria adopted a defensive strategy. Religion would remain central to public identity but only within strictly regulated boundaries designed to prevent its mobilisation for political ends. This meant that religious institutions were brought firmly under government control, clerics were monitored and appointed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and theological discourse was reshaped to emphasise obedience to the state.
2. Branches of Law to which Islamic Law is Applied
2.1 Morocco
In Morocco, Islamic law is most visibly applied in the domain of family and personal status law, codified in the Mudawwana (2004). Rooted in Maliki jurisprudence, the Code regulates marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody, and guardianship. Qur’anic junctions provide the non-negotiable framework. For example, inheritance shares are distributed strictly in line with the prescription, “to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” (Q 4:11). Yet the Mudawwana also illustrates the monarchy’s capacity to reinterpret doctrine through state-sanctioned ijtihad (independent reasoning). Polygamy, though not abolished, is conditional on judicial authorisation and the consent of the first wife, while women now enjoy broader rights to seek divorce. These reforms, justified through the King’s dual role as Amīr al-Muʾminīn (Commander of the Faithful) and head of state, embody Morocco’s strategy of presenting Sharia not as static, but as a framework capable of modernisation.
By contrast, public law domains such as criminal, commercial and administrative, fall outside Sharia. The penal code does not include Hudud punishments, and commercial law is regulated through civil codes influenced by French models rather than Qur’anic prohibitions, such as the ban on interest (Riba). In this way, Sharia is both confined and elevated: restricted in scope to personal status, yet symbolically harnessed by the monarchy to legitimise reform and project an image of “moderate Islam” at home and abroad.
2.2 Algeria
In Algeria, Islamic law is likewise confined to the sphere of family and personal status law, codified in the Family Code. Like Morocco’s Mudawwana, it draws on Maliki jurisprudence and incorporates definitive Qur’anic injunctions as non-negotiable rules. Divorce proceedings, for instance, enforce the waiting period (ʿIdda) prescribed in Q 2:228, “divorced women shall wait by themselves for three periods”, to protect lineage and allow reconciliation. Yet, unlike Morocco’s reformist trajectory, Algeria’s legislative framework has been more cautious. While judges may invoke Maṣlaḥa (public interest) or Istiḥsān (juristic preference) in cases of divorce, custody, or dissolution on grounds of harm (Darar), these discretionary tools operate within a narrower civil framework, leaving fewer avenues for expansive reinterpretation.
As in Morocco, Sharia plays no role in Algeria’s public law domains. Criminal and commercial law are governed by civil codes influenced by French models, and hudūd punishments are also absent from the penal code. However, unlike Morocco, where the monarchy symbolically mobilises Sharia to legitimise reform, Algeria’s republican framework deliberately contains Islamic law within the private sphere. Here Sharia functions less as an instrument of state-led modernisation and more as a marker of cultural identity, subordinated to constitutional authority. The effect is a system that enshrines Islamic law in family matters but resists its elevation into broader political or symbolic domains, reflecting Algeria’s historical determination to separate religious legitimacy from state sovereignty.
3. Systems and Institutions Involved in the Implementation of Islamic Law
3.1 Morocco
At the apex of Morocco’s religious-legal hierarchy stands the King, whose authority is institutionalised through the High Council of Ulema. This body, empowered to issue binding fatwas on questions of doctrine and law, ensures that religious interpretation remains under direct state supervision and aligned with the monarchy’s dual role as both political sovereign and spiritual guardian.
The implementation of Islamic law in Morocco is channelled through a network of judicial, educational, and religious institutions under the overarching authority of the monarchy. Within the judiciary, specialised Sharīʿa chambers handle family law cases, while secular courts apply the penal code, commercial law, and constitutional provisions rooted in French civil law traditions. Judges (Qāḍīs) are trained in both secular and Islamic disciplines, and where legislation is silent, they rely on Maliki precedent and state-endorsed Ijtihād to align traditional rulings with contemporary standards.
Beyond the courts, Morocco’s educational system sustains the transmission of Islamic legal knowledge. Traditional msids (Qurʾanic schools) provide early instruction in literacy and religious foundations, while higher institutions such as the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines, and Morchidates prepare religious personnel in a state-framed vision of “moderate Islam”. Finally, mosques serve as centres of community guidance, yet their imams and preachers are funded and closely monitored by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, ensuring doctrinal alignment with the monarchy’s authority.
3.2 Algeria
Algeria’s religious-legal system is firmly controlled by the state, which centralises authority through the High Islamic Council. Unlike Morocco’s sacralised monarchy, this council is composed of state appointees who issue fatwas and promote ijtihād within government-defined parameters, ensuring religious interpretation remains firmly subordinated to republican authority.
In contrast to Morocco’s dual system, Algeria does not maintain separate Shariʿa courts. Instead, personal status disputes are adjudicated by the ordinary civil judiciary, which also applies statutes drawn from the Constitution, legislation, and international treaties. To fulfil this role, Qāḍīs must be trained in both civil and Islamic law, enabling them to interpret and apply the Family Code while drawing on Maliki precedent and contemporary Ijtihad to address legal gaps. Lawyers receive similar training, equipping them to navigate between civil and Islamic traditions in personal status cases and ensuring continuity across the system.
Educational Institutions such as the Emir Abdelkader University of Islamic Sciences and the University of Algiers 1 train legal professionals in both fiqh and civil law, embedding Islamic principles within a modern academic setting while affirming the state’s civil identity. Mosques, meanwhile, are kept under strict supervision by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, ensuring that religious practice supports social cohesion and national values rather than independent authority.
4. Internal and External Perceptions of the Legal Systems
4.1 Morocco
Progressive currents in Morocco view the Mudawwana reforms of 2004 as a landmark in aligning Islamic law with modern values. Changes such as restricting polygamy, granting women broader rights to initiate divorce, and raising the marriage age are praised by reformists as proof that Sharia can be adapted through state-sanctioned ijtihād to advance gender equality. Feminist activists, however, argue that reforms remain incomplete: inheritance law still follows Qurʾanic fractions, and women’s guardianship rights remain circumscribed. On the other hand, conservative groups condemn the reforms as a dilution of Sharīʿa. They argue that placing judicial oversight on polygamy or enabling women’s unilateral divorce departs from what they see as divine injunctions.
International organisations such as the UN, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International often commend Morocco as a regional pioneer of “moderate Islam,” highlighting its efforts to modernise personal status law while preserving Islamic legitimacy. At the same time, they lend support to domestic feminist activists by emphasising ongoing shortcomings, particularly in relation to discriminatory inheritance rules, restrictions on guardianship, and barriers to gender equality. Human rights bodies also caution that reforms are unevenly applied, especially in rural areas, casting doubt on whether Morocco’s reforms represent genuine transformation or largely symbolic progress. Nonetheless, Morocco continues to leverage this reform narrative to project itself internationally as a bastion of moderation, particularly in its EU partnerships and counter-extremism strategies.
4.2 Algeria
Within Algeria, views on Islamic law are shaped by the enduring weight of the Family Code (2005), which many critics describe as “a symbol of institutionalised patriarchy”. Like Morocco, internal progressive voices, including women’s rights activists and legal reformers, highlight discriminatory provisions in divorce, custody, and inheritance as key obstacles to gender equality. For example, women still require a guardian (wali) in certain marriage contexts, and inheritance fractions follow Qurʾanic prescriptions without reformist reinterpretation. These groups argue that the Code’s rigidity perpetuates patriarchal norms and falls short of international human rights commitments.
Conservative and Islamist actors, by contrast, defend the Family Code as an essential safeguard of Algeria’s Islamic identity. They view calls for reform as Western impositions that risk undermining national and religious authenticity.
Externally, Algeria is often criticised more sharply than Morocco for its lack of reform. The UN Human Rights Committee and CEDAW have repeatedly expressed agreed concern that the Family Code entrenches gender-based discrimination, particularly in inheritance and guardianship. Human Rights Watch has described the law as “a major impediment to women’s equality,” citing its continuing requirement of male guardianship in marriage. At the same time, Algeria’s firm containment of Sharia within family law and its rejection of Islamist politics is noted by some international observers as a stabilising factor after the “Black Decade” of violence. Still, Algeria’s model is less often celebrated as progressive, and more often framed as cautious, defensive, or stagnant.
Conclusion
The comparison of Morocco and Algeria shows how two states with shared Maliki traditions have pursued distinct strategies in integrating Islamic law. Morocco, through its sacralised monarchy, presents Sharia as a vehicle for reform and international legitimacy, while Algeria confines it largely to family law within a republican framework shaped by security imperatives. In both contexts, Islamic law remains central to personal status but diverges in its symbolic and political role. Internally, debates over gender equality and legitimacy reveal the tension between tradition and modernity, while externally Morocco is praised for “moderate” reform and Algeria criticised for caution and rigidity. Together, these cases highlight the complexity of reconciling Islamic principles with state authority and global norms, underscoring how Islamic law continues to evolve as both a source of identity and a tool of governance.
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Bibliography
A Articles/Books/Reports
Binyam, Maya, ‘Ink on Paper? The Moroccan Moudawana’s Shortcomings’, Columbia Political Review (online, 2021) https://www.cpreview.org/.
Dupret, Baudouin, Positive Law from the Muslim World: Jurisprudence, Courts, and Constitutions in the Middle East and Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2023: Algeria (Report, 2023).
International Federation for Human Rights, Women and the Family Code in Algeria: From Words to Action (Report, 2007).
Kamali, Mohammad Hashim, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Islamic Texts Society, 3rd ed, 2003).
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B Cases
C Legislation
Constitution of Algeria (Algeria, 2020).
Constitution of Morocco (Morocco, 2011).
Family Code (Algeria, 2005).
Family Code (Morocco, 2004).
D Treaties
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of Algeria, UN Doc CEDAW/C/DZA/CO/4-5 (2012).
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding Observations on the Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic Reports of Morocco, UN Doc CEDAW/C/MAR/CO/5-6 (2017).
E Other
‘Morocco Proposes Family Law Reforms to Improve Women’s Rights’, Reuters (online, 2024) https://www.reuters.com/.
‘Morocco’s Moudawana Reform Puts Women’s Rights in Ballot Box’, The New Arab (online, 2023) https://www.newarab.com/.
‘The Moudawana: A Divisive Reform’, Medfeminiswiya (online, 2025) https://medfeminiswiya.net/.
Qurʾān.
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Angelica Hargreaves is an undergraduate student of Law and Psychology with a strong interest in global governance and the human dimensions of international affairs. Passionate about dialogue, policy, and cross-cultural understanding, she aspires to build a career in diplomacy and contribute to fostering cooperation on the world stage.
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