The legal tradition of Islamic law rests on the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. The most difficult part of Islamic law for most westerners to grasp is that no separation exists between church and state. The religion of Islam and the government are one. Judges under Islamic law must administer several punishments for a few very serious crimes found in the Quran, but they have much greater freedom in punishment for less serious crimes. Islamic law is known as Sharia law; Sharia means the path to follow God’s law. Sharia law is holistic or eclectic in its approach to guide the individual in most daily matters. Sharia law controls, rules, and regulates all public and private behavior. The three major crime categories are Had Crimes, the most serious; Tazir crimes, the least serious; and Qusas crimes, those for which the victim has a right to seek retribution and retaliation. Non-Muslims are not bound by the same standard as are Muslims. However, both Muslims and non-Muslims must abide by laws such as tax laws, traffic laws, white-collar crimes, and theft. The Mazalim courts try these and many other crimes similar to common law crimes, as well as civil, family, and other cases. Islamic law has separate courts for Muslims for religious crimes and contemporary non-religious courts for other criminal and civil matters. 31 references