Research on Sharia law Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

On Sharia law - Research Paper Example , the origins of Sharia laws derive from a combination of laws, like Roman laws, contents of the Holy Koran (qiyas), teachings of Prophet Mohammed and present day assimilations of ancient legal interpretations and treatises (ijmas). However, an interesting aspect of Shari has been that in their countries of acceptance and faith, different interpretations exist for these laws. Modernists, traditionalists and fundamentalists all hold different views of Sharia, as do adherents to different schools of Islamic thought and scholarship. Different countries and cultures have varying interpretations of Sharia as well. Thus, Sharia practices in African countries may be quite different from those in Arab countries. On the other hand, Muslim population in India may have different cultural and sociological interpretation of Sharia than what is being done in Indonesia, or Yemen, for that matter. Thus, what is important is the sociological background of these laws in the context of respective countries where these laws are followed. Moreover, it is also seen that Islam has two sub sects – Sunnis and Shias. It is now necessary to consider the differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims, which essentially finds the difference in religion but politics. This is primarily because it concerns leadership matters subsequent to the prophet’s era and what led to division of Muslim sect soon after the death Mohammed. When the question arose as to who would inherit the mantle of the Prophet, of one sect believed that leadership should be taken over by one of his worthy followers. But Shias believed th at leadership should move to the member of his own kith or kin, like his son- in- law, or nephew. Thus, major differences arose between Sunnis and Shias, such that the latter were not able to ever reconcile themselves to the fact that Ali’s descendants were not provided due leadership in the Muslim order after the lifetime of Prophet. Thus, they refused to accept the authority of Sunni