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Originally Posted by IbnMardhiyah

Ummmm, nice try, but no.Here on Islamica its been said several times about both Ahmadinejad and Musharraf that they were spouting anti-Western just to garner votes from their constitiuencies [not votership] and there was no objection, everyone here agreed because that's what politicians do - they pander to the masses because the masses have the vote.

That's what Chotoo was trying to point out.

What's so offensive about that?

Nope, no that's not the same. What's happening here is not the lambasting of an individual who's making outlandish statements, as is what happened with Ahmedinejad. The disconnect between him and his constituents was understood - nothing was being said about the Iranian people as a whole. Contrast that to statements that Americans need to see their leaders harm 'brown people' or attack Muslim countries.

A comparable claim would be that Muslims in general would need to see their leader persecute Christians and Jews in order to prove their loyalty to Islam, or attack and harm white people in order for them to be a viable candidate.