- Joined
- Jan 15, 2016
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- Libertarian - Right
There is no one flavor of Islam. There are plenty of Muslims who believe in secular government, particularly those raised in the west. Now, I have the advantage of having lived in multiple Muslim countries, having worked alongside hundreds of Muslims, and am still friends with dozens of them. So I know how widely their beliefs can vary. Not all Muslims are Islamists. I would never vote for an Islamist because by definition they believe governments should obey the Koran.
It is easy to say that Islamic doctrine says X, Y, and Z therefore Muslims believe X, Y, and Z. But just like every other group of religious people, Muslims are humans and humans will interpret things in a way that they are comfortable with. They will rationalize things so they can live the life they want to live while convincing themselves they are still true to their religion.
Humans by their vary nature aren’t consistent. Hell, one of the best strip clubs I went to when living in Jakarta was owned by an Imam. I even convinced him to add Guinness to the beers they kept on tap.
People are complicated.
All very true. Which is why I did not say I would not vote for a Muslim. But an Imam can, reasonably, be expected to be an Islamist.
You do indeed have the advantage over me. I have only lived in two Muslim countries, Iran and Kuwait. The former in the days of the Shah, when one cud buy locally made alcoholic drinks in the supermarket.