Large-Scale Islamic Belief is Harmful to Society

~Response to 1. Qur'anic Verses and Domestic Abuse in the Middle East~ The Qur'anic passage is very specifically talking about a woman who is not keeping her vows. The next passage even advises getting a mediator. It is wisely says that if both parties truly desire to be reconciled, they will be reconciled. The fact of the matter is, the intent of the scripture is not to encourage "domestic abuse", and twisting it to mean something like that is more a reflection of the interpreter than anything. It isn't something that can be blamed on Islam. In the same source that you use to claim that "99%" of the population is Muslim, it makes the claim that "An important figure in Muslim life in Afghanistan is the mullah (a male religious leader or teacher). Any man who can recite the Koran (the sacred scripture of Islam) from memory can be a mullah, but the mullah may not understand either the words or the meaning, since the book was written and is memorized in Arabic, which is not a local language. The mullah conducts the Friday sermon and prayers, marriages, and funerals. Mullahs also teach the laws and doctrines of Islam to both adults and children. Mullahs arbitrate local disputes, based upon Islamic legal principles, and they are also called upon to provide advice and resolution of many other physical, social, and personal problems, including such things as medicines, local water disputes, or a family feud.". It seems implied that the Afghanistan people may not be the most knowledgeable about Islam, despite their outward appearance. The sources you are pulling for these statistics for domestic abuse are news articles, which are not necessarily reliable sources to begin with. The CNN claimed source for abuse in Afghanistan is the "The United Nations Development Fund for Women" as you stated. If you were to read the "convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women", you will see that this organization clearly has a very strong feminist bias. It it isn't clear how they come up with their information. The source for your Iran statistics is from an "anonymous journalist in Iran". I can't seem to find where you are getting your statistic for Iraq from. Statistics themselves are not reliable, and they can easily be used to mislead. Let us also remember that correlation does not necessarily mean causation. Certainly, there are other things these countries have in common besides a professed Islamic faith. Certainly, I am not even implying that those commonalities are any more or less a direct cause than belief in Islam. ~Response to 2. Tax Amongst Non-Muslim citizens~ What the Caliphate did was no different than what any other country did then or now. They collected a tax which went towards the upkeep of both the state and the upkeep of the church buildings of those who had to pay the tax. It is well documented that non-Muslims were not asked to fight in wars. Muslims themselves were required to donate to charity. It was for practical purposes. ~Response to 3. Modern-Day Unrest~ I think it is unfair to single out religion as a cause for what is going on in the middle east at the moment. After World War 1, the region has been carved up, exploited, and dominated by outside influences that aren't able to act effectively even when they operate under the pretense of having the best interest of the people in mind. There is a lot of chaos in the region, and religion, being a great unifying force, will be used to rally people. The people in the region live radically different lives, are exposed to very different information, and have experienced a great deal more horror than those who live outside. The situation in the middle east is tragic and confusing at the moment. I don't believe that the attention we are given to the situation over there is conducive to understanding the message of Islam. I also don't believe that it is even remotely reasonable to blame the turmoil in that region on Islam. There are far too many variables at play here.