Show of Hands

That’s exactly why a bunch of your MAGA buddies on here want.

Turkey is no beacon of freedom!

His is a factual question, not biased

Gigantic misconception.

This poll is about Islam not Israel.

I haven’t seen anyone stoned or beheaded for not following Christianity. What did I miss?

Sounds a lot like the type of country Christians want.

Z … please identify the latest person electrocuted or hanged for not strictly following the precepts of Christianity.

I’ll wait!

Of course not.

Outlaw … what does the Koran teach you must do with the non-believers?

I think the harder truth is that many Americans already accept religious influence in governance—so long as it’s their religion.

We routinely see political arguments grounded explicitly in Christian theology: on abortion, LGBTQ rights, marriage, education, and public morality. It’s also common to hear claims that the Founders were Christians who never intended a strict separation of church and state. That’s not a fringe position; it’s mainstream in some circles.

Seen that way, the objection to Islamic governance isn’t really about religion mixing with politics—it’s about which religion does the mixing.

That doesn’t mean all theocratic systems are compatible with liberal democracy. Many aren’t. But it does suggest that cultural incompatibility is often overstated, while selective comfort with religious authority is understated.

In practice, the debate isn’t “theocracy vs. secularism.”
It’s which religious values people are willing to see encoded into law—and which ones they aren’t.

🎯
More than a few on this app.

Seems like you are projecting extremism and zealousy on all Muslims.

Yeah, right.

I am not here to defend Islam in any way but we need to attempt to be fair.

We usually think of Muslim Middle East theocracies but the largest Muslim nation by far is Indonesia.

Indonesia is not a theocracy; it's officially a secular, democratic republic with a state philosophy called Pancasila that requires belief in one God but doesn't establish an Islamic state, blending religious values with a diverse, pluralistic foundation, though it officially recognizes six religions and sometimes faces issues with applying blasphemy laws. It's considered a "middle ground," recognizing religion's public role while avoiding the extremes of a pure secular state or an Islamic theocracy.

Goo … it’s always a hoot to see your hysteria. Remember, you leftists all demanded that we join the Church of Climate Alarm and demanded that we pay trillions to your silly idols!

Not accurate, not if you understand what Islam is.

I’ll share the same video with you that I did with the others below. It’s important for Americans to start educating themselves on this ideology. It is not comparable to Christianity in the way westerners mistakenly think. It is a very different animal.

youtu.be/Y64jGdPHDmM?si=D_i15e2jc9MdfxkT

It used to be. But they have turned towards the dark side.

Israel is a true functioning Democracy surrounded by mostly theocratic Muslim countries.

I don’t see them as comparable at all. One tries to create a Sharia state anywhere it settles, provided it gains enough dominance. Islam, when practiced according to the text, does not allow for democracy. To my knowledge, every other major religion does.

Those guys love Christian sharia

Yes actually, there is a very distinct separation of church and state within the Bible—Jesus’ Caesar verse. However, that’s irrelevant because this poll has nothing to do with Christianity. It’s about Islam, which is far more political in nature and not at all comparable to Christianity in the way westerners think.

Israel is a Jewish state. A theocracy by almost definition except when it is inconvenient.

Is that a Christian dogma?

“Those guys love Christian sharia”

No such thing exists to love.

sID … once again simple truths expose your hysteria. Yawn.

Turkey has separation of mosque and state and they’ve had it for decades

The “familiar” traditions do not call for ongoing war and hatred. Islamic text does. The continued attacks across the world, all attributed to the same ideology, aren’t coincidence. They’re driven by the text. The ideology is the source.

People need to educate themselves on this ideology. It is unlike any other. Even calling it a religion is a stretch once you truly understand it. It’s more political than religious, certainly in percentage of text dedicated to each topic.

It seems that the best way to be fair is to clearly enforce the separation between church and state. That should be true regardless of the religion.

This is true. Sort of. Indonesia is secular on paper. Not so much in practice—though one might not realize that if they’d only visited the tourist areas.

Regardless, Pancasila is not an Islamic concept. It was formed by Indonesian nationalists, because they needed a way to unify everyone to fight off the Dutch. At the time, there were hardline Islamists who wanted a Sharia state, including getting thier special unbeliever tax and all that, but they had no choice but to yield. So there were extenuating circumstances. They also have islands, which maintain a good deal of cultural separation that I think makes coexistence easier.

Even despite all that, though, there was still an Islamic uprising (where they tried forcing Sharia again) and several other flare ups after Pancasila was established.

That said, Indonesia does show mostly peaceful coexistence is possible (jihadists attacks, etc. still occur).

Not all muslims are extremist islamic terrorists. But all Islamic terrorists are Muslims.

There is no separation of church and state inherent to Christianity either. It’s a concept created here in America, at its founding.

Not at all.

If the shoe fits….

Not to put too fine a point on it, but until recently the entirety of western culture was ruled by theocracies.

Thank you for that view. I will try to absorb it. I work very hard at not being ‘tribal’, but I will admit, Islam is one of my last and biggest hurdle.

Absolutely not

The poll is about a the ideology of Islam. You want to make it into a critisism of the west—which you seem to hate. More power to ya. I just feel you might prefer living somewhere else, considering your feelings about the west.

Theocratic ideologies and western secularism are at odds.

Outlaw, this poll is not about Muslims. It’s about the ideology of Islam.

That said, you make a good point, and I think you inadvertently highlighted the crux of the matter. If you claim you’re a Muslim, shouldn’t I assume you adhere to the ideology? If yes, then I have to assume that, to you, I’m your enemy—because Islam clearly lays out the battle lines between Muslims and everyone else.

So what do we do with that? I’m not the type to blanket prejudice an entire group, and I know there are tons of Muslims who want to escape this ideology. But how do we deal with an ideology that promotes hate and conquering the way this one does?

True. They’re not official theocracies in that they’re not run by clerics. But Islam is the dominant influence in everything from Sharia courts to gender segregation to dress requirements to alcohol bans, etc.

I am a proud infidel!

That’s because “civilization” uses hanging, electrocution or lethal injection.

Obviously not compatible.

“In Islam, there is no separation of mosque and state.”

That’s not how Islam actually operates in real life. It’s a theoretical claim based on selective religious texts, not a description of how Muslim societies function.

“Sharia governs everything.”

This is simply false as a descriptive claim. Sharia is not a single legal code, not uniformly interpreted, and not uniformly applied. Across Muslim-majority societies, you find:
• Secular civil law systems
• Hybrid legal systems
• Customary law overriding religious law
• Sharia limited to family or inheritance law
• Sharia ignored altogether in daily governance

To say “Sharia governs everything” is like saying “Christianity governs everything in Europe” because canon law exists. It confuses normative ideals with historical reality.

Oops. It took me a while to type all that, and other comments came in in the meantime. That comment was to Ody.

Pam, Islam is a religion. Are you working on not being tribal in regard to a religion? Or did you intend to say Muslim?

For anyone interested in learning more about Islam, this is extremely educational, especially if you have little knowledge on the subject:

youtu.be/Y64jGdPHDmM?si=cMNClx8lGRM4qCJj

We’re living in 2025, not in the past. Doesn’t matter, though. Your views are so anti-west that it’s not worth discussing. Maybe consider moving someplace you’d don’t hate? Just a thought.

Irish. I thought that you were an atheist who hated fundamentalism. Why are you defending islam? You don’t defend christianity.