We’re learning how Muslim scholars for centuries have attempted to make sense of God's divine will, or sharia, and to bring it down to decidedly imperfect, human levels...through Islamic law. There are numerous interpretations, and then there are varying degrees to which countries incorporate or don’t incorporate Islamic law in their governance. But when states support problematic interpretations of Islam - and when leaders purposefully conflate Islamic law as being the word of God - it leads to a broader misunderstanding of what sharia is at its core. We learn more from the authors of the new book Shariah: What Everyone Needs to Know, John Esposito and Natana DeLong-Bas.

John Esposito, professor of religion and insternational affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University
Natana DeLong-Bas, assistant professor of theology at Boston College