Even with the presence of a revealed or inspired text, how one understands and implements that text is a human-centered process. We bring our own perceptions, our own approaches and values to the text and the differences between us results in differences in our theology and practice.

Even those things which might seem to brook no discussion, such as the command to cut the hand of the thief mentioned in the Qur'an, are subject to human intervention. Omar, the second caliph after the Prophet, suspended this law in a time of drought and famine. Modern scholar Tariq Ramadan has suggested that all the punishments in the Qur'an cannot be applied in today's world because the society which the Qur'an envisons does not exist anywhere in the world, and that society is a prerequisite for those punishments. Others have said they might be applicable in the 7th century, but they are no longer appropriate, as our moral understanding has changed. Many have suggested that these verses need not be taken literally, but rather can be understood as a metaphor for preventing a thief from committing the crime -- via alleviatio of deprivation, law enforcement, or if necessary encareration.

So too, the shari'ah, which is often called Divine Law, is in reality the product of very human attempts to understand what God might want us to do. Often that process was terribly flawed, resulting in horrible abuses of human rights as we see in modern Saudi Arabia and Iran.

At the same time, others find inspiration in that code for incredible acts of humanity -- people like Mukhtaran Mai, Abdul Sattar Edhi, and Shirin Ebadi derive their spirit of compassion and justice from Islamic ideals and legal principles.

I believe that it is very important that the human element in religion be acknowleged. There is potential for great abuse when a law is perceived as Divine, even worse when it is perceived as both Divine and absolute. From Christian evangelicals who are threatening the moral freedom of Americans to Islamists who would implement their visions (or nightmares) of Islamic theocracy, those who believe in Absolute Divine Law are a real and present danger in our world.

When the human processes in developing shari'ah are more widely acknowledged, it will be easier to introduce reform to the Muslim world. It would change the discourse from one of implementing or overthrowing Divine Authority, to one of reinterpreting and rejecting old rulings that were flawed in the first place, or that are no longer appropriate given changed social conditions