o push their own agenda, often through the use of terrorism.
Following the conviction that Islam is "Creed and state, book and sword, and a way of life" (Muslim Brotherhood Movement Homepage (MBMH)), Islamist fundamentalists routinely condemn Muslim states such as Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia for trying to modernizeùa process which often has been perceived as synonymous with allowing elements of nationalism, secularism, and Western-style democracy to influence diplomatic practice in Muslim nations (Nelan 63).
The Shari'a, devout Muslims will argue, does not allow that Western adjustments, by nature secular and democratic, can be made in Islamic states. In fact, wherever such adjustments are made, the state will simply cease to be Islamic. This is so simply because the Shari'a must envelop and permeate all aspects of life; where it fails to do this, the true Islamic state has not been realized (Strawson 5).
In John Strawson's exposition on Shari'a, "Encountering Islamic Law", he emphasizes that for a Muslim, Shari'a is simply the application of divine will (6); quoting Abdullahi Ahmed An-Nai'm, Strawson presents the following:
"To Muslims, Shari'a is the 'whole duty of mankind', moral and pastoral theology and ethics, high spiritual aspiration, and detailed ritualistic and formal observance; it encompasses all aspects of public and private law, hygiene, and even courtesy and good manners" (Strawson 6).
It is thus one of the "special characteristics" of Islamic law that it is able to constitute, in the contemporary world, a system of sacred law (Strawson 6).
The fact that Islamic jurisprudence permits a legal system that covers all areas of social regulation will necessarily rankle Western liberal theorists committed to protecting the individual from laws that are too pervasive. Indeed, for the Western liberal, good laws are those that respect that all individuals must retain around them a minimum sphere of...