I agree. The problem that I have is not that theological arguments influence people, I totally believe it does, but rather in other regards.
1. When you place the theological argument above peoples actions, you are taking the responsibility away from the person in my opinion.
2. I have yet to see where the QURAN condones anything with regard to this topic. I have seen Hadiths condone this, but this is not the Holy book of the religion, and is accepted as the words of a man, and not the words of God, therefore since the condonement comes from the word of man, and not "the word of God", how can you cite the religion being to blame?
3. The Bible is easily to be interpreted to condone pedophilia, do you also believe that Christianity condones and/or supports pedophilia?
Yet again, can you cite the Quran where Islam opposes women's rights? Then again, the Bible has many verses that oppose women's rights, does that mean Christianity condones oppression of women?
Finally, Sharia law, which is where most of the treatment of women and child abuse comes from, is not inherently Muslim. There is no reference to Sharia law in the Quran, and from my personal opinion it is enforced due to pressure from tribal leaders who hold much power, and adhere to a form of Islam that is more akin to pre-islam arabia. How can a woman not being allowed to drive a car be found in the Quran?
SHARIA LAW - Islamic Sharia Law Explained
Upon further inspection, I would say that the religion of Sharia is to blame rather than Islam.
The Koran vs. Sharia at a glance
The closest verse I have found to anything like this is Surah 4: 34-35, where it says a man who finds his wife to be rebellious may hit her as a last resort. However, the meaning of the word used can be translated many different ways, and only after a Hadith decided it meant that a man could beat his wife did it become that way.
Surah 4 : 34-35
Look at the section on adribu for a specific reference.
Again is this from Islam or from people using an established religion to conture society to the way they wan't it to be? Do you place blame on the religion, of which the holy book really says nothing that supports these actions, or do you place blame on the people that choose to interpret the ambiguous statements as a reason for their immoral actions?
Sharia vs. Islam, Islam is based on the Quran, which is God's word according to Muslims. Sharia is man's words very loosely interpreted from God's words.
In my opinion it is not Islam that has the catching up to do, but rather the people that inhabit countries that are generally associated with religion of Islam.
According to your logic, I could say the reason that America has better treatment of women is because they are Christian, and it has nothing to do with low level of poverty and the high level of education within America. And even with that, women only got "equal" rights with men less than 100 years ago.
Ghandi and his wife had an arranged marriage where neither one of them had any say in the situation, and him and his wife turned out ok in my opinion.