DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS POST ON AN ACCOUNT THAT SHOWS ANY BIT OF INFORMATION THAT COULD BE USED TO IDENTIFY YOU

I make this statement for the safety of everyone here. It is dangerous to criticise religion in many parts of the world. Even if you are in a freer country, DO NOT RISK IT. Do not share personally identifiable information anywhere on Reddit, even in personal DMs if you are engaging in these topics. Expect to receive death threats if this post and your reply receive enough traction.

I am tired of seeing subreddits I subscribe to allow religious apologetics. It is a disease that I can't get away from. There should be no sympathy for any Abrahamic faith whatsoever. Each and every one of them promotes rape and harming women. There is no other way to interpret them. We should not give them ANY benefit of the doubt. None exists. Despite how cruel these faiths are, women still follow them more than men do. Women's emotions are being ABUSED by men, making them believe the solutions to their problems are the religions that thrive off of our suffering.

It says in Deuteronomy 21:10-14, a book in the Torah of the Tanakh as well as a book in the Christian Bible (which also, does not reject the Old Testament, Jesus only reformed certain practices but this discussion is not really relevant as the words of the New Testament itself are disgusting on their own):

"When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her."

Deuteronomy 21:10-14 does not even have the fake consent we see in the Qur'an, instead, they do not say you need ask permission to marry. Normally, the consent of the father was what was required to marry a woman. Women were not seen as a relevant party in marriage, only their fathers. So, their consent is irrelevant to law in Judaism and Christianity. Additionally, according to both religions, divorce is very difficult. A woman in both religions is always held to the authority of a man, as long as a man is also involved. So, to divorce a man, a woman needs to appeal to a man. In Christianity, 1 Timothy 2:11-12 says:

"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."

In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says: "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."

Saying "the husband does not have authority of his own body but yields it to his wife" is a useless addition to create a false sense of fairness to women. Women are more likely to have lower libidos, and this verse was made for men who wanted more sex than they were getting. What the Apostle Paul says here is an excuse he created for men to rape their wives.

The 47th Surah, verse 4 of the Qur'an shows that it is allowed for captives to be taken, and verse 4:24 allows Muslim men to seek marriage of female captives.

"Also forbidden are married women—except female captives in your possession. This is Allah’s commandment to you. Lawful to you are all beyond these—as long as you seek them with your wealth in a legal marriage, not in fornication. Give those you have consummated marriage with their due dowries. It is permissible to be mutually gracious regarding the set dowry. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise."

These women captured by Muslims were most often left with two choices:

1. Continue being a slave during hard, grueling labour.
2. Accept their captor's marriage proposal, and given Islam's harsh treatments of women, be a sex slave.

Women often felt left with no choice but to accept their captor's marriage proposals, as it would mean they would need to free them from slavery. Women in Islam can also not divorce without the consent of their husband, or approval from a court. Now, it is important to remember here that the Qur'an is incapable of encompassing all the laws and rules for Muslims to follow. Thus, there are the Hadith. These were written by those closest to Muhammad, most prominent of these, considered Muhammad's successor, is Abu Bakr. In Sahih al-Bukari, the most followed and widely considered authentic collection of hadith in Sunni Islam, Abu Bakr quotes Muhammad, saying this:

"During the battle of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a Word (I heard from the Prophet). When the Prophet heard the news that the people of the Persia had made the daughter of Khosrau their Queen (ruler), he said, "Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler."

That quote is used across most Sunni Muslims to deny women any position of power. That includes in courtrooms, meaning that a woman would have to appeal to a man for divorce, and the grounds for an Islamic court to grant are mistreatment, financial neglect, or sometimes there are other causes too (often coming from objections to the relationship by the woman's father if he is alive).

The issue here is what mistreatment is. Surah 4 verse 34 says that men are in charge of women, and there are countless hadith condemning the practice of women refusing sex to their husbands, many coming from Muhammad himself. So, a man forcing his legal wife to have sex with him is not the grounds for a divorce in Islam.

To finish up this post, the translation of the Bible (including the books also present in the Torah) used is the New International Version (NIV). All the Old Testament books are present in all major sects of Christianity and Judaism. The Qur'an translation used is from Mustafa Khattab. The hadith quoted may not be universal. I am only speaking of the Qur'an from my knowledge of it, which my knowledge is from the Sunni sect. Shia Islam is obviously bad as well, as the Qur'an is universal. The only different is that the mentions of hadith I have used might not be the same or exactly the same.

Other religions are bad too, but I do not have the experience to make a good post on this. Furthermore, some religions such as Buddhism rely heavily on sect. Buddhist texts are never seen as being set in stone like the Qur'an is, for example. None of the most accepted texts are considered misogynistic (additionally, you may know of women being banned from being monastics in Thailand. This was an order from the king of Thailand, and not attributed to any Buddhist text promoting it). All religion will have bad and pathways to bad, no exceptions. Irrational thought is the easiest thought to manipulate, but I do not believe it is fair to say all religion is inherently misogynistic, although the vast majority of religious people are following inherently misogynistic religions.

If you have identified with the religions mentioned, feel free to reach out to me. Do not share any personally identifiable information with me, even in DMs. People may try to use seemingly helpful posts and advice to oust you. Stay safe.