The word "sharia" comes from the Arabic language and means something like "path" or "way". It is interpreted in the light of the Quran, the holy book of the Moslems, to mean "a framework or system of divine law" or "a way of practice and belief".
In most Moslem majority countries some form of Sharia law prevails except in the case of Turkey. In most Persian Gulf countries a system of monarchies exist which have no justification in the Sharia Law itself. They use it as a way to appease the religious right in their respective countries. The danger with Sharia law is that you can interpret it differently based on which sect of Islam one is referring to and the conservativeness of ones beliefs. It can be made into a total mockery as in the case of the Taliban which based it on a strict Wahabi interpretation of Islam as is followed in Saudi Arabia
In most Moslem majority countries some form of Sharia law prevails except in the case of Turkey. In most Persian Gulf countries a system of monarchies exist which have no justification in the Sharia Law itself. They use it as a way to appease the religious right in their respective countries. The danger with Sharia law is that you can interpret it differently based on which sect of Islam one is referring to and the conservativeness of ones beliefs. It can be made into a total mockery as in the case of the Taliban which based it on a strict Wahabi interpretation of Islam as is followed in Saudi Arabia
