Do post as much as you wish about this topic. Nobody's trying to pressure you to answer before you are ready.
However, I don't think I want to post any further to this board.
These are not at all the things I was taught, this is not the Islam I was raised with...Still I have no desire to dispute these points with you. If you say this is THE only interpretation of these ideas, and there is no other, then so be it.
I used to hold Islam in higher regard than most other spiritual paths, but I'm increasingly finding it similar to fundemenatalist Christianity, and if it is so, I don't think I need to delve any deeper into it. I don't undestand why people with such free-thinking and all-embracing philosophies as my parents would choose a religion where every ounce of life is strictly regimented by doctrine, which have single, literal interpretations that must be aided by outside sources and explained in even more detail in order to be understood by the masses.
I'm not saying you're not entitled to your views. Your religion is just as valid as anyone else's, and by all means follow it as well as you are able to. I'm simply seeing on a personal level that I was mistaken about the Islamic world; and frankly, I don't think I wish to see any more than I have.
Please feel free to explain your views without hinderance, this is a place for people of all faiths and paths to converse and I hope that it is a useful and constructive discussion for all involved
Peace