I might add that the US, because it does insist that all government and law must derive from the People, is 180 degrees in separation from the UBL-Zawahiri view that all government and law derives from God as expressed in the Koran.
From Mike's post #5

This is interesting because as I read the text box above it I was thinking how like Sharia law the American system is, how the Constitution was being viewed by Americans as the basis of law in the same way as Muslims derived their laws from the Koran. The Koran laid down an immutable law based – presumably – on a set of principles that represented best practice of the day (I am an atheist so view all religious laws as man made). I believe the same for Moses’ tablets or the laws of the Talmud. As time has moved on some of the stricture of each system have become a problem for modern societies. Stoning women to death for adultery – and not men – the acceptance of slavery etc. The US constitution is much younger but has already needed to accommodate changing attitudes to race. It would be interesting to see how anachronistic it will look in 1400 years time - if there are humans around at that time.