It is not true that rates of abuse against women is higher in the west. Where is your proof? I think Islam is a respectable religion. However, the fact is that women in most Islamic and most Arab countries are too oppressed and intimidated to report the acts of violence they experience. They are literally not allowed to testify on their own behalf or are not believed or face such grave danger and/or social scorn if they do file a complaint that they just suffer silently. A family we heard from in Iraq is an example: one of the daughters was raped. She was brave enough to tell her family (and her father and brother were wise and educated enough not to blame her and then kill her for her vicitimization). The young woman did not go to the police, however, because the she and the family believed that they would be austrocized by the community, lose respect, lose jobs, lose friends, be forced to move -- because when a woman in these cultures is the vicitim of violence it is still considered her fault (blaming the victim), which only adds to the trauma, serves to silence women, and serves to allow men impunity in committing crimes against women. Same thing used to be true in the West. Thankfully, and with a lot of effort, these dangerous and un-G-dly attitudes (that oppress women) are much less common now. Arab and Muslim zocieties are not inherently bad, but, as difficult as it is to admit, they do include a whole lot of disincentives to accurate reporting of crimes against women. When you succeed in ridding the cltures of those ills, then we can compare crime data.

whatever. why bother to build arguments with one whose mind mind is already made up that "the problem is my religion"? The reason why I didnt respond earlier? Because i was actually teaching to people who really would like to learn.

whatever. It is not that my mind is "made up," but that the evidence for my views is overwhelming. You are "teaching to people who really would like to learn," but what are you teaching? The problem, you see, is not with the religion that you call Islam but that is not true Islam. For Islam is defined by key texts and traditions of interpretation, and that Islam--true Islam--is a grisly affair. The problem with your teaching of a false Islam is that I expect you believe it, that you will convince Westerners of it, and then we will all be blindsided when the mullahs smite our necks.

I notice that you claim that Jewish texts include "much that is hateful of women." Yet, the "evidence" you provide is small potatoes indeed. Islam, at its core, is deeply brutal to women--and I have already provided evidence in support of this claim. We're not talking trifles like your alleged prayer (THIS is the best you could do?!). If you want totalitarianism, you want and need Islam. It's that simple. In no way are women's rights a top priority for me. But even *I* am disgusted enough about what Muslims do to women to speak up. YOU should not make excuses for them.