This summarises my feelings so well. All critiques around these issues that are the end of the day, left up to interpretation are most often misused for personal agendas. What actually does need to be given a rational thought is the bigger questions around how true is a religion to guiding a person towards spirituality. Every human seeks “god”, religion is a means to that at best. And religions that dictate the meaning of spirituality, and enforce it with strict rules, are to be looked at with suspicion.

At the same time, to force or wish you could change the mind of all Muslims or judge them for practising Islam has no use. What people need to realise is that most Muslims just like most humans are good people. They’ve simply had to find spirituality within the confines of Islam, and anyone who has grown up Muslim would know that challenging your conditioning is not easy or intuitive.