In 'medieval' Islam, they cut the hands off of thieves, stoned adulterers, and killed apostates - as per the rulings of the Nabi . I believe that the laws Allah revealed in the Qur'an, in qat'i texts, cannot possibly be ever described as 'unable to deal with the complexities and difficulties of modern existence.' If you reject the application of these laws, then you're a mushrik. If qat'i texts are subject to invalidation on the basis of human reasoning, then there is no Shari'ah, if you call it 'shari'ah' that doesn't make it so. I can dress up a pigeon in a tuxedo but it will never be a groom. This is the most common shubha raised about the punishment and it is easily refuted: Qiyas is only permitted in the absence of a qat'i text. I have seen this kind of qiyas, advocated by mushrikeen who hate what Allah said in His Qur'an, referred to as 'Qiyas ilbeesi.' It is an apt description. On another note, what's with the plague of Ghamidite mushrikeen on SunniForum these days?