Western discourse often views Sharia as incompatible with constitutional principles. What about the compatibility of Sharia and human rights in Arab nations currently undergoing upheaval?
One must bear in mind that Sharia was developed over the course of history by legal scholars taking local social and economic conditions at the time into consideration. There's a difference between that which is viewed as a principle and as an eternal truth in Islamic law, and the sections of the Sharia code that are currently undergoing reappraisal. Polygamy was abolished in Tunisia in 1956, but at the time no one claimed that this represented a break with Sharia. Quite on the contrary: lawmakers invoked the principles of Islamic law with the intention of acting in the interests of progress. [Deutsche Welle] Read more
