Paperbacks: Heaven on Earth By Sadakat Kadri

Learned and wise, a leading lawyer's "journey through Shari'a law" must be read by anyone who seeks an informed view on Islam's legal traditions and their role today.

From Cordoba to Cairo, Lahore to Deoband, our guide – son of a father from the broad Barelvi strain of Islam - shows that the cruel cartoon Shari'a pushed by the militants owes more to human vanity than divine will. In scope and subtlety, Islamic law "outshone Christendom" for centuries. But Kadri warns that mortals always fail "when they play God in the here-and-now". That goes for us all.