Jean-Paul Charnay examines the encounter between Islamic legal tradition and modern Western political thought in *La Charîa et l'Occident*. Written for a general readership, the book situates Sharia within its historical, theological, and juridical contexts before considering how Western commentators have interpreted it. Drawing on Charnay's expertise in Islamic law, the work challenges reductive accounts that treat Sharia as a fixed and monolithic system, and instead explores its internal diversity and its relationship to changing social and political conditions. The book also engages with debates about civilization, modernity, and intercultural misunderstanding, particularly in the wake of theories about a clash between Islam and the West. A concise work of nonfiction, it offers a historically grounded perspective on law, religion, and political identity.