Justice & Institution Building in the UAE - Essay Example

Justice and Building in the UAE Justice and Building in the UAE The tension between the western ideologies and the Islamic perception of the judicial systems and the nature of the legislation has been in existence since time immemorial. However, with the advent of Sheikh Zayed in power, there were many alterations in the Islamic justice system that made it resemble the Western models of justice. The paper seeks to analyze the Zayed’s conception of justice with the aim of establishing whether it bridges the tension between the Western rule of law tradition and Islamic customs.

It also determines the extent to which the UAE experience may act as a model to build more stable institutions in the conflict-affected Islamic countries. First, Sheikh Zayed brought law and order without a police force through luring the effective tribesmen and the outlaw tribesmen to let them join the tribal chiefdom. Strategically, he then used the former fugitives to arrest the remaining bandits. His approach was allied to the western tradition of justice. His gesture or strategy in eradicating banditry emulated the western systems of community sensitization that involves groundsmen in eliminating crime.

At least, a democratic process was incorporated in this initiative, a sign that the leader embraces some of the western techniques of the justice systems. Second, the leaders also bridged the tension between the western rule of law tradition and Islamic customs by embracing diplomatic ways of handling conflicts. In the past, before the leadership of the renewed leader, the sharia laws existed but favored the wealthy families. However, as the term of the leader commenced he revolutionized the approach and considered the poor households in terms of resource distribution.

According to the leader, justice for all was a divine injunction and neither the Quran nor the Sharia laws were going to deter people from getting a fair share of the resources that they deserved. Sheikh Zayed also cooled the tension between the two diverse legislative models through holding a more liberal perception about the sharia laws. As opposed to Sunni, who adopted a more radical and irrational system of justice, he introduced goodwill, kindness, compassion and generosity when interpreting the Sharia.

In addition, he advocated justice for all as a means of putting things in their right places and establishing a balance between obligation and rights. Furthermore, he ensured justice for all people irrespective of race, nationality, and religion. His perception in combination with the installation of a more formal justice system contributes immensely to the bridging of the gap amid the two models of justice. In conclusion, Zayed conception of justice led to the realization of order and the depiction of justice to everyone at all time in any instance of judgment in his country.

With the notice of progress in embracing the formal judicial practices, it is appropriate for other Muslim states in the UAE affected by conflict to embrace the new and workable justice system. Through implementing the contemporary models of the justice system, they will build more stable institutions in the conflict-affected Islamic countries.