Everyone is free to have his own opinion — so long as it precisely tracks Islam

The Economist has a chart that tracks the data Pew gathered when it polled Muslims around the world about their beliefs.  It turns out (no big surprise here) that those of you who denied the existence of assimilated, “moderate” Muslims were right.  To the extent these MINOs (Muslims in Name Only) exist, they’re a very, very small minority.  Most other Muslims, given their dream world, see sharia as the answer, not the problem.

What I found amusing, in a grim, bitter way, was this statement from The Economist:

The report also reflects man’s infinite capacity to hold contradictory views at the same time. Almost 80% of Egyptian Muslims say they favour religious freedom and a similar number favour sharia law. Of that group, almost 90% also think people who renounce Islam should be put to death. Confused? So are they.

They don’t seem confused at all to me.  When the Muslims polled speak of religious freedom, they mean the freedom to practice Islam — or else.