The problem with Islam

[wufwugy]

Fine. My issue is that you're pulling your notion of "mainstream" from spurious sources.

Leading pollsters are spurious sources? The claim that mainstream Islam does not include the types of social views I've alluded to is held only by a rather small minority. If you're okay with arguing that this tiny minority is the correct one, I'm totally fine with that since I have no position on the matter since my posts have been a response to the fact that the vast majority do not share your view.

A) I never claimed to speak for anyone but myself.
B) What's your point?

Your statements have been confusing since you've been talking about something much different than the rest of us have ITT. I have not posted about things where the view of cultural determinism of morality is relevant.

Yes.

Where do you draw the line?

If you understand the depth of their scripture

That actually doesn't matter. It matters what is taught. There are all sorts of awful things that can be found in the Bible that are not taught by Christians, for example.

or the responsibility placed on men which is (theoretically) an equal burden for their faith as the women's burden, then we can keep talking.

How so?

For you to say, "Look, they don't let their women wear whatever they want!" as though it's somehow either true or bad is just weird to me. You are not allowed to wear dresses and face makeup. If you do so in public, you will likely be ridiculed and possibly assaulted by homophobic idiot assholes who do not represent the wider views of your culture. Is this an argument for how oppressive the Western culture is towards men?

Of course it doesn't represent the wider views of western culture towards men. That view is extremely sparsely held. However, it is a mistake to conflate this fringe belief in western culture with how the belief operates in the Islamic world. It is extremely not fringe there. The analogy you chose would be appropriate if the example was me wearing t-shirt with a picture of a particular person on it then me being heftily punished for it and that representing the mainstream view of my culture. Or if a woman in heels were to be punished and that representing the mainstream view of her culture.