Unlike Christianity, Islam does not separate religion and politics. Islamic law, or Shari'a, regulates all facets of life of individual Muslims including the personal, family, social, commercial, criminal, political, and religious aspects. Shari'a consists mainly of family and inheritance law and to a lesser degree contracts law, penal code, taxation law, and the law of war.

Many Muslims consider Shari'a as divine, which renders the reform of Islamic Shari'a an exceedingly difficult task. This task is further complicated by the absence of any central spiritual Islamic council or a Supreme Court of Shari'a to legislate for the Muslim world. As a result, individual Muslim countries have adapted Shari'a to their particular circumstances and cultures.

Shari'a laws are derived from four sources. The primary source of Shari'a is the Qur'an, which is directly revealed by God to his messenger Muhammad (c. 570–632). The Qur'an consists of...