If we look at Abdel Nasser in Egypt as an Arab leader, he was secular.
In prison I had the opportunity to debate and discuss people that had subscribed to all forms of Islamism.
Within our lifetime, we can remember a time when Islamism wasn't the dominant form of discourse or the aim should be to minimise the absolutists within any religious community and contain them.
It's not always the case that Muslims have been theocrats.
Preying on the grievances of disaffected young men is the bedrock of Islamism.
I'm yet to discover any form of theocracy that isn't homophobic, that isn't bigoted to the out group.