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Would You Vote for a Former Imam for Congress?

Would You Vote for a Former Imam for Congress?


  • Total voters
    38
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.
 
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.

Yeah, geography makes such a difference. Two of the countries I lived in were Libya and Indonesia. The flavor of Islam varied so much it made my head spin.

The distinction you make is a fair one, but a further distinction I make is between an Imam and a former Imam. There are multiple reasons one might leave the clergy. One is they just got too old for it and wanted to retire, but hold all the same beliefs. But sometimes a person leaves the clergy because their personal views begin to drift from the more fundamental line they have been towing all those years. I just have to take it on a case by case basis. The longer ago they left the clergy the more time they had to move away from the hard line and, more importantly, the more time they had to do things that prove they favor a secular government. I have to be convinced with deeds, not words. After all, they want to be a politician so I inherently distrust them. ;)
 
No, he’s a liberal which means he wants to transition to economy to a command economy and supports policies antithetical to a free market. And there’s virtually no pro market Muslims credibly running for office in either the US or Canada

Yeah, but your no vote isn't because of his religion, it's because of his policies. Assume a former I am with economic policies you like.
 
Islam is not in favour of secular government. The doctrine is that god made all the laws required and revealed them through his prophet. For men to presume to make new laws is heresy. All that elected governments may do is tomake regulations within god's law in order to implement it. It must be assumed that an Imam holds to this doctrine which is why I would not vote for someone who had been an Imam, except in the extremely unlikely circumstance that he had renounced Islam.
As with Christianity, it has it's factions.

Some factions want religious government.

I am 100% sure that there are plenty of Muslims who would enthusiastically support a form of "separation of church and state".
 
I was browsing Reddit and I found this article. An Imam has been approached by the Liberals to run in a possible Quebec by-election. He is a spokesperson for the Council of Quebec Imams, a former engineer for Bombardier, holds a law degree, and speaks 7 languages. I think that is a pretty amazing resume for an MP and if he is considering he must know about the Liberal's policies and whipping on social issues.

Strangely the riding people think he would run in is a historically an Italian riding.

Would you vote for an equally qualified Imam running for Congress?

When voting for a candidate, for me...


Race = meaningless
Sexual orientation = meaningless
religion = meaningless
The Letter they put after thier name = meaningless

What does matter to me:
The platform/campaign they run on
thier voting history
thier character
thier stance on issues (if thier voting history matches it)
 
No, he’s a liberal which means he wants to transition to economy to a command economy and supports policies antithetical to a free market. And there’s virtually no pro market Muslims credibly running for office in either the US or Canada

Breaking: Free markets are a myth. The don't exist except for in Power Point presentations and on chalkboards.

This just in: liberals aren't particularly interested in command economies.

Film at 11.
 
Breaking: Free markets are a myth. The don't exist except for in Power Point presentations and on chalkboards.

This just in: liberals aren't particularly interested in command economies.

Film at 11.
Democrats aren't particularly interested in command economies - I'm less sure about all liberals - some might be.

Free market is a myth, but the "freer" it becomes, the less free the majority of people are.
Because the corporations who run the world economy use the propaganda corporations they own to push the narrative that regulations which prevent them from causing short and/or long-term harm are anti-profit, and therefor bad.
 
I was browsing Reddit and I found this article. An Imam has been approached by the Liberals to run in a possible Quebec by-election. He is a spokesperson for the Council of Quebec Imams, a former engineer for Bombardier, holds a law degree, and speaks 7 languages. I think that is a pretty amazing resume for an MP and if he is considering he must know about the Liberal's policies and whipping on social issues.

Strangely the riding people think he would run in is a historically an Italian riding.

Would you vote for an equally qualified Imam running for Congress?

Maybe; in the US, we don't have to take candidates seriously about morals, once they enter public office; only politics and the law.
 
Breaking: Free markets are a myth. The don't exist except for in Power Point presentations and on chalkboards.

This just in: liberals aren't particularly interested in command economies.

Film at 11.

Ok, please list how many federal agencies you wish to abolish and how many regulations repealed since you’re not interested in a command economy
 
Democrats aren't particularly interested in command economies - I'm less sure about all liberals - some might be.

Free market is a myth, but the "freer" it becomes, the less free the majority of people are.
Because the corporations who run the world economy use the propaganda corporations they own to push the narrative that regulations which prevent them from causing short and/or long-term harm are anti-profit, and therefor bad.

No, the freer the market the more free people are. States that regulate economic behavior are fully empowered to regulate all behavior
 
Ok, please list how many federal agencies you wish to abolish and how many regulations repealed since you’re not interested in a command economy

Zero. I am not interested in shrinking government in the Republican sense. I am interested in actually funding government. We've been picking away at the government for nearly 40 years all while we slash taxes.

No wonder it doesn't work.

Staff it. Fund it. Send the GOP home.

Make America great again
 
Zero. I am not interested in shrinking government in the Republican sense. I am interested in actually funding government. We've been picking away at the government for nearly 40 years all while we slash taxes.

No wonder it doesn't work.

Staff it. Fund it. Send the GOP home.

Make America great again

We fund the government more then enough.
 
I voted NO.

He would have to declare his intention and oath to support and defend the Constitution first.

Against ALL enemies, including fellow Muslims, for him to get my vote.
 
and that furthers my point...neither one of them are upholding their pledge to uphold the constitution. Both should be impeached.

OMG. So you are saying that duly elected congressmen should be impeached because they are Muslim?? For real??

I'm so gobsmacked by that completely unconstitutional bit of religious bigotry that I honestly don't know where to go with it. Who else is unable to serve because of their beliefs? Catholics? Mormons? Athests? Buddhists? Hindus? Well, that leaves only Christians who are qualified to be elected to congress or any governmental office in a country where all religions are supposed to be respected and protected.

Seriously, do you honestly believe this stuff? My leg feels like it is being pulled by someone who is giggling from halfway across the world.
 
I was browsing Reddit and I found this article. An Imam has been approached by the Liberals to run in a possible Quebec by-election. He is a spokesperson for the Council of Quebec Imams, a former engineer for Bombardier, holds a law degree, and speaks 7 languages. I think that is a pretty amazing resume for an MP and if he is considering he must know about the Liberal's policies and whipping on social issues.

Strangely the riding people think he would run in is a historically an Italian riding.

Would you vote for an equally qualified Imam running for Congress?


The title says "former" Imam but the article doesn't specify that he's no longer an Imam.

Personally, I'm not fond of those with strong religious leanings, whether they be Muslim, Christian or Buddhist. To me, voting for a current Imam is like voting for a pastor -- they've dedicated their lives to their religions and, while I don't have a problem voting for a member of a religion, I'd be unlikely to vote for a religious leader.
 
The title says "former" Imam but the article doesn't specify that he's no longer an Imam.

Personally, I'm not fond of those with strong religious leanings, whether they be Muslim, Christian or Buddhist. To me, voting for a current Imam is like voting for a pastor -- they've dedicated their lives to their religions and, while I don't have a problem voting for a member of a religion, I'd be unlikely to vote for a religious leader.

He said in another article is he runs he will stop being an Imam, being an MP is a full-time job.
 
OMG. So you are saying that duly elected congressmen should be impeached because they are Muslim?? For real??

I'm so gobsmacked by that completely unconstitutional bit of religious bigotry that I honestly don't know where to go with it. Who else is unable to serve because of their beliefs? Catholics? Mormons? Athests? Buddhists? Hindus? Well, that leaves only Christians who are qualified to be elected to congress or any governmental office in a country where all religions are supposed to be respected and protected.

Seriously, do you honestly believe this stuff? My leg feels like it is being pulled by someone who is giggling from halfway across the world.

You missed the friggin point, typical of lefties. You only see color, race and religion. I said that they should be impeached for failing to uphold their oath to protect the constitution. Our constitution and the tenets of islam cannot coexist.
 
He said in another article is he runs he will stop being an Imam, being an MP is a full-time job.

I'd still be a little iffy just because he's still currently an Imam. I understand that he'd need to give it up due to the time constraints placed on him by the MP position, but I would prefer that he'd already cut ties, which would indicate, to me, that he's moderated his religious leanings.
 
I'd still be a little iffy just because he's still currently an Imam. I understand that he'd need to give it up due to the time constraints placed on him by the MP position, but I would prefer that he'd already cut ties, which would indicate, to me, that he's moderated his religious leanings.

Why should he do it now? He has not even decided if he will run.
 
I was browsing Reddit and I found this article. An Imam has been approached by the Liberals to run in a possible Quebec by-election. He is a spokesperson for the Council of Quebec Imams, a former engineer for Bombardier, holds a law degree, and speaks 7 languages. I think that is a pretty amazing resume for an MP and if he is considering he must know about the Liberal's policies and whipping on social issues.

Strangely the riding people think he would run in is a historically an Italian riding.

Would you vote for an equally qualified Imam running for Congress?

As long as he can serve for everyone and not fall back onto his own ways as an Imam. He has my support.
 
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