Things are not static in the Middle East. There are developing urban areas and this also has an effect on the culture. These are a large number of professionals. They tend to follow the court system. This is particularly the case in urban areas.
Children are the property of the fathers family.
This is changing. For example, in Jordan, children stay with the mother through the age of 18, if they are divorced. After 18, they have a choice. In the villages, however, they do not go by the law. There are many conflicts over colonial borders.