In the legal system of the premodern Middle East, the closest thing to an autonomous private organization was the Islamic waqf. This non-state institution inhibited political participation, collective action, and rule of law, among other indicators of democratization. It did so through several mechanisms. Its activities were essentially set by its founder, which limited its capacity to meet political challenges. Being designed to provide a service on its own, it could not participate in lasting political coalitions. The waqf’s beneficiaries had no say in evaluating or selecting its officers, and they had trouble forming a political community. Thus, for all the resources it controlled, the Islamic waqf contributed minimally to building civil society. As a core element of Islam’s classical institutional complex, it perpetuated authoritarian rule by keeping the state largely unrestrained. Therein lies a key reason for the slow pace of the Middle East’s democratization process.

中文翻译：

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中东威权统治的法律根源：伊斯兰 Waqf 的公民遗产

在前现代中东的法律体系中，最接近自治私人组织的是伊斯兰宗教组织。这种非国家机构抑制了政治参与、集体行动和法治，以及其他民主化指标。它通过多种机制做到了这一点。它的活动基本上是由其创始人设定的，这限制了其应对政治挑战的能力。它旨在自行提供服务，因此无法参与持久的政治联盟。waqf 的受益人在评估或选择其官员方面没有发言权，而且他们难以形成一个政治共同体。因此，就其控制的所有资源而言，伊斯兰宗教组织对建设公民社会的贡献微乎其微。作为伊斯兰教古典制度复合体的核心要素，它使国家基本上不受限制，从而使专制统治永久化。这是中东民主化进程缓慢的一个关键原因。