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I believe Azerbaijan not only is not a dictatorship, but is also a secular government. Iran isn't a dictatorship. I'm sure there are more, but these are off t

by xeromal 10y ago

I believe Azerbaijan not only is not a dictatorship, but is also a secular government. Iran isn't a dictatorship. I'm sure there are more, but these are off the top of my head.

zip1234 10y ago
"Iran isn't a dictatorship." - The 'Supreme Leader' begs to differ. "The armed forces, judicial system, state television, and other key governmental organizations are under the control of the Supreme Leader of Iran." To be clear, Iran is not totalitarian, but definitely shades of dictatorship.
cm2187 10y ago
There are other democracies. Tunisia. Indonesia. There are also free elections in Morocco even if the king has a strong power. But pretty much every muslim country has to deal with a rising, if not dominant islamism in its various forms (of which AKP is one). It really feels like a repeat of communism. The rise of an ideology across the world. It's not an homogeneous block. Various muslim ethnic groups hate each others, as did the Maoists, Stalinists, Trotskyist, etc. It happens pretty much everywhere there is a muslim population. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lybia, Egypt, Yemen, Somalia / Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc. Western leaders like to pretend that islamists are a minority of extremist groups but the reality is that pretty much anytime there has been a free-ish election in any of these countries, the islamists toped the polls, or got an outright majority. I think it will get worse before it gets better.
- guftagu 10y ago
  When was the last time Pakistan elected an Islamist government? The last PPP government was pretty secular and the current one is also in the middle if not purely secular. The only time a truly Islamist government was formed in Pakistan was when US puppet dictator Zia ul Haq took over to fight the commies in Afghanistan. Pakistan has many different Islamist parties but they struggle to get even a handful of seats.
Atropos 10y ago
The Economist's democracy index disagrees, putting Azerbaijan into the "Authoritarian" index. And apprently their President is in power since 2003, which is usually not a good sign. Iran certainly cannot be called a full democracy, the religious council has to approve candidacies for President - it isn't even clear if the current President Rouhani can pose as a candidate! But there are some Muslim democracies working better, like Indonesia and Malaysia.

by xeromal 10y ago

I believe Azerbaijan not only is not a dictatorship, but is also a secular government. Iran isn't a dictatorship. I'm sure there are more, but these are off the top of my head.

zip1234 10y ago

"Iran isn't a dictatorship." - The 'Supreme Leader' begs to differ. "The armed forces, judicial system, state television, and other key governmental organizations are under the control of the Supreme Leader of Iran." To be clear, Iran is not totalitarian, but definitely shades of dictatorship.

cm2187 10y ago

There are other democracies. Tunisia. Indonesia. There are also free elections in Morocco even if the king has a strong power. But pretty much every muslim country has to deal with a rising, if not dominant islamism in its various forms (of which AKP is one). It really feels like a repeat of communism. The rise of an ideology across the world. It's not an homogeneous block. Various muslim ethnic groups hate each others, as did the Maoists, Stalinists, Trotskyist, etc. It happens pretty much everywhere there is a muslim population. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lybia, Egypt, Yemen, Somalia / Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc. Western leaders like to pretend that islamists are a minority of extremist groups but the reality is that pretty much anytime there has been a free-ish election in any of these countries, the islamists toped the polls, or got an outright majority. I think it will get worse before it gets better.

guftagu 10y ago
When was the last time Pakistan elected an Islamist government? The last PPP government was pretty secular and the current one is also in the middle if not purely secular. The only time a truly Islamist government was formed in Pakistan was when US puppet dictator Zia ul Haq took over to fight the commies in Afghanistan. Pakistan has many different Islamist parties but they struggle to get even a handful of seats.

Atropos 10y ago

The Economist's democracy index disagrees, putting Azerbaijan into the "Authoritarian" index. And apprently their President is in power since 2003, which is usually not a good sign. Iran certainly cannot be called a full democracy, the religious council has to approve candidacies for President - it isn't even clear if the current President Rouhani can pose as a candidate! But there are some Muslim democracies working better, like Indonesia and Malaysia.