A lot of what modern Muslims interpret as Islamic laws is really just an early Arabized version of Islam which the Wahabbi movement tried to bring back in the late 19th century.

Muhammad was depicted in early Persian art (mainly by Sufis) as well as lots of Turkic/Central Asian, Turkish, West African (mostly Mali & Senegal), Mughal (South Asian), and Chinese art. The Safavids who were another Persian Islamic empire were the ones who converted all of modern day Iran to Shia Islam. Safavids also depicted Muhammad while commemorating his grandson Imam Ali. Shah Tahmasp of the Safavid dynasty commissioned a lot of artists to depict Imam Ali (including his sons) and he also tried to tie himself to Imam Ali, Muhammad, and their extended family.

You can now see why the Wahabbi Saudi's have developed a rivalry with Iran. They believe Shia's have deified Imam Ali to become a Jesus-like figure by turning him to an idol (even though it's patently false - Safavids did not do this). Lots of Sunni Muslims have naturally adopted the Wahabbi traditions because that's what has been preached for the last century as being pure. If you adopt of the of the local & historical practices of Islam, you'd be accused of being a heretic Some places have changed more than others. For example, Pakistan's Islam is very Arabized and strays from their organically developed religious history while parts of China and Caucuses still have their local variants of Islam. I think the subjugation and oppression of some indigenous groups in these parts of the world has led to these Wahabbi-like interpretations. Chechen rebels as well as members of the Taliban took on Islamic fundamentalism because they saw it as a way to puritanically unite their people against their foreign occupiers (in this case Russia).