I was watching a video and it got me thinking about this. We all know the type. The Jewish friend who comes over every year to ask if you have any leftover Easter ham. The Buddhist who everyone will brag saved them in the war. The Bahai who adheres to reincarnation instead of Heaven. The other day, I met a Muslim walking his pet pig. A match made in Heaven.
What’s the biggest deviation from the norm you’ve seen in someone of a certain religion who otherwise would show they genuinely believe in it?
Disclaimer: I’m not Muslim and didn’t grow up around many Muslims, but I now have a lot of contact with Muslims of varying strictness.
The phrasing in the Quran is not perfectly clear, but there are a few interpretations: all intoxicants are banned (including laughing gas, alcohol, and various medications); plant-based intoxicants are banned (including alcohol, Opium, hookah, tea, and tobacco); or intoxicants made from grapes or dates are banned (so vodka is fine).
I used to work at a hookah bar, and was always surprised that Muslims generally believe tea is fine (caffeine is an intoxicant), frequently believe hookah is fine (nicotine is definitely an intoxicant), and generally believe alcohol made from other sources is not okay. This seems like picking and choosing to me, but even the Muslims I know who drink tend to fall into this category and just feel guilty about it
Unfortunately, I am not delicate enough to seriously discuss this without offending people, so I don’t know why. I assume cultural norms outweigh the actual scripture (which happens with most religions and which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, but I’m generally in favor of harmless cultural norms and non religious).
The one that seems to me like the biggest deviation, to actually answer the question, is when pro-life christians are for the death penalty or hawkish about wars.