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Reza Aslan: Santorum as ayatollah?

"We believe in democracy and we also believe in freedom, but we do not believe in liberal democracy." Who said it?

Reza Aslan: Santorum as ayatollah?
Kevin Eckstrom

Full disclosure: This first came out a week or more ago, but it's still getting chatter on the Interwebs.

Muslim author/activist Reza Aslan is likening GOP candidate Rick Santorum to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and asking readers to guess which man said a series of provocative quotes, including:

— “We believe in democracy and we also believe in freedom, but we do not believe in liberal democracy.”


— “This is not a political war at all. This is not a cultural war. This is a spiritual war.”

Says Aslan:

Let us pause for a moment and become a bit more familiar with the dramatis personae who, if given the opportunity, may soon plunge the world into holy war. It's time to play: Khamenei or Santorum? Who said what?

You can play along here.

(Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

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