What a lot of people don't know, I mean I didn't until I learned differently is that Sharia only applies to the public sphere. What goes on in public, the private is between you and Allah. So, if you want to drink your Jack Daniels in the privacy of your own home, so long as you don't go out in public, drink in public, you can do as you please. This goes for non-muslims as well. They can drink, they can do this or that which is forbidden in Islam but IN PRIVATE. The minute it goes public, you're in deep doo doo.
A friend of mine recently came back from the UAE. He spoke of the hotels and their extravagance, he spoke of vending machines which spit out $1000 gold bars, REAL SOLID GOLD BARS from a vending machine, like a can of Coke! He spoke of the bars, the night life, etc. etc. He also spoke of despite so much wealth on display everywhere that outside these "cities of gold" is poverty beyond compare. Where a "rich man" could fit all his worldly possessions in a box and the poor didn't have a box.
The Prophet was one of moderation. He detested extremes. The Middle Path. This is the Prophet's path. It is also narrated that the Prophet didn't fear poverty for the Ummah but wealth. Wealth and the worldly which would pull people from the way of Allah.
Such abject displays of indulgence, of extravagance in the UAE which is not only allowed but encouraged would most certainly bring about the sword.
Now, what is interesting, and I know a lot of Muslims who by my own experience with them validates this is that Muslims cannot tell you you are going to hell. That is out of their providence, they would say "Allah knows". The punishment you receive from Allah is between you and Allah. However, and this gets back to the public square vs the private. Any actions you take which encourage people to fall away from Allah's path this is the duty of muslims under Sharia to prevent. That's why you can drink in private but not in public. You wear the hijab at the market but not in your kitchen. I hope I'm doing justice in my explanation and you can see this very important distinction and the misconceptions about Sharia which I have to admit are perpetuated most by the unlearned of the Ummah and then seized upon by Islam's detractors.
Now, I may be wrong, I should have stated that what I had said was my opinion, but based on my knowledge on the subject which by no means do I take myself as a scholar, merely slightly learned by comparison -- I feel as I said, would be.
Now, as I understand it, Sharia is all encompassing. The punishments cannot be exacted if it isn't all encompassing because you are punishing someone for their ignorance and you yourself (meaning those who govern) are sending mixed signals and as the custodians of what Allah has given you have responsibilities to protect virtue and prevent vice. There is no picking and choosing which laws of Sharia apply because all of it has to. So you cannot under Sharia have punishment meted out for social indiscretions all the while allow for the engaging in usury, idolatry, gambling, etc... This is not Sharia.
All of this is what I've learned from scholars, from my own reading and listening to lectures, books, etc... I could be wrong, but as far as my understanding goes, every single thing that I have said based on what I have learned is true. Others may disagree, but they'd be hard pressed to convince me on anything to the contrary.
and again if I've insulted anyone please forgive. Patience on this subject has never been a virtue for me.