Originally Posted by gypsy8522

If our religion was that horrible 1.8 billion people would have abandoned it a long time ago. Surprizingly, Muslims now make up one fourth of the world population and are ever growing, and they are not going anywhere anytime soon, so why doesn't everyone just face it and get on with life.

Arab cultures are still highly bound with traditions, some of these have existed for thousands of years, long before Islam, and if "they" the Arab people want change they have to do it on their own. If the Jordanians or Saudi Arabians decided that they didn't like your way of life, or that they didn't like the way your judicial system is run, wouldn't you mind if they tried to interfere? The problem is that you are indoctrined from birth that your way of running society is correct, when it clearly isn't from the social problems we keep hearing about like street crimes and kids going to school and shooting at other kids. It is not up to you or "anyone" to tell people what they are or aren't supposed to do with their own society, especially if the person offering this "friendly advice" may not have any traditions or heritage to begin with, especially if this person is from a completely different region like Midwest, USA, never lived in any of those countries that she/he is criticizing, doesn't speak the language of the people she/he is criticizing, doesn't quite understand the religion, the culture or the mentality of the people she/he is criticizing, trust me any "efforts" in this case, (not necessarily "my" opinion, I am speaking from Arab/Middle Eastern people's point of view), regardless what one's intentions are, they are useles and comes off as bigotry.

I am assuming you haven't visited the Arab world, because the only country where it is a legal requirement for women to cover their heads is Saudi Arabia, so this law isn't common as you think it is. And if the laws in Saudi Arabia (the closest ally to the United States in the region) are bothering you, and you truly want to help change them, why don't you ask the US government to stop stealing or "buying" the Saudi people's "cheap oil" and in return keeping their dictators and oppressive regime in power- as long as it supports this oppression to save the interests of its own multi-national coorporations, the silent majority in Saudi Arabia who do want a change, and this includes WOMEN, will have the right to NOT have any say in anything whatsoever.