Islam is not the only religion to have laws that regulate society and that are brutal to women. Christianity had it (divine right of kings, papal infallability, women forbidden from being priests {still} ). Also the Jews. Very strict dietary laws....read Deutoronomy and some of the early Old Testament, and you get the same thing.
The difference is Christians, and Jews to a lesser extent (there are still crazies in both religions) have undergone reformations, and Islam has not fully done so.
It is ridiculous to believe that God spoke directly to three men, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, all from the same corner of
the world and all within a relatively brief period of time and
"told" each of them different things. It is a fairy tale, and sadly people have been killing each other over it for thousands of years.
I agree with you, but you see, Jesus never got the chance to actually regulate any laws. Mohammad did have this chance and then there's a verse in Quran, that Muslims should follow God, the prophet and those who are appointed by them thereafter. So it has the potential for ruling more than any other religion and the line of Caliphs went on for centuries.
Again I agree that these three religions are fabrication of Middle Eastern people, but don't think they've been very different at core if you get to know them while they were originally formed here. Women have been and still are treated like dirt here, that's been the custom of this region. However, a European woman would've never succumb to polygamy. Romans and consequently Europeans adopted Christianity and changed it to fit their own life style.
Quran states that Jesus was never crucified, and didn't die on the cross, but was lifted to heaven before they can lay a finger on him. It states that no man can pay for others' crimes than themselves, thus questioning the whole salvation concept that today's Christianity dwells upon, stating that those who believe in such a thing are misled. Muslims even repeat about 17 times a day in their prayers that God was neither born nor has given birth nor has ever had a son.
Religion has been only a tool to keep people in line. Whether they are European or Middle Eastern peasants, it has been only there to make sure they wouldn't question or defy authority. Other than that, it has been metamorphosed into the customs of the region it has been practiced.
