All Arab states - from Morocco in the west through to Oman in the east - are civil law countries and, with the exception of Lebanon, prescribe Islam as the religion of the state in their constitution. With the exception of Jordan, all to a greater or lesser degree prescribe Sharia as 'a' or 'the' source of legislation. Arab states follow a civil law system because of the former French occupation of Egypt and the significant contribution made by Dr Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri, who drafted the Egyptian Civil Code in 1948 and came into force in 1949 with key assistance from French legal jurists.
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