There is a difference between letting people practice Islam and wanting Sharia Law.

Though I don't usually miss the opportunity to dunk on either communism or organized religion, this particular quote is often taken wildly out of context.

Keep in mind that opium was used back then as a painkiller. By calling religion "the opiate of the masses", Karl Marx meant to say that it was something that eased the suffering of an oppressed people.

The full quote, in fact, is: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."