From the replies so far in this thread, it is clear that no one sees an ideal Islamic country anywhere. With about 56 countries worldwide controlled by Muslims, not one is seen to be satisfactorily running on Islamic lines. Is it the failure of Islam or the Muslims? That is, has Islam a blueprint for a perfect society or are Muslims unwilling/incapable of implementing Islamic blueprint for a perfect society? Or, is it that Islam is incapable of producing ideal Muslims in sufficient numbers to bring about an ideal Islamic society?
1) It's the fault of muslims because the one's who are in charge of the countries are not following Islam properly.
One needs only to look at the teachings of Islam as a whole - they all aim to keep justice and order in a society.
2) Sharia (or Islamic law) is so similar to any other form of law out here (examples: theives, murderers and rapists are all categorised as criminals in all law systems) - the only real difference is in maximum punishments which the BNP and its ilk (or anyone who took extreme pleasure in Saddam being HANGED) seem to have a problem with (rather ironic don't ya think!)
3) There is no such thing as a blueprint for a perfect society; perfect societies do not exist and have not existed. Sharia does not aim for perfection, rather it aims for justice and order amongst society.
In that regard, it is holistically the perfect blueprint.
4) Sharia is not supposed to be
dogmatic - it should be thought of as a spine; there is room for some flexibility but not too much, else it'd snap and not too little, else it would be too restrictive. It is a balancing act and that is one of the main reasons why a CALIPHATE is needed (they're essentially moderators for Islamic law but this is too brief a summary of what they actually do)
5) Most if not all muslim countries currently practice a pseudo-Islamic law. It is a hybrid of sharia and whatever else is common to them - because of this, it is prone to many silly laws or interpretations. Again, with a caliphate, this problem would be minimised.