Let me state at the outset of my comment, Ann, that I agree with you that women should not be treated in the manner which the movie you reviewed describes. Not ever. Women are far too valuable to society in general and as human beings to be marginalized and treated as being less important than men simply because they're women, irrespective of their geographic location.
But I'm not sure that the Muslim religion should the sole target of your just ire. Remember that the societies in which the Muslim faith is predominant have long histories which reach back before the advent of the prophet, and many of the situations you describe in your introduction were (and still are) cultural in nature, not religious.
While I am not Muslim, nor do I subscribe to its tenets, I have done some casual study of its origins. One of the things Muhammad battled against was the open immorality practiced by the tribal chieftains in his society. Believe it or not, the prevailing condition for women in society under Muhammad's direct teaching was better than it had been before.
There is a tendency among some to link social behaviors to the prevailing religion of that society. For example, the Rabbinical debates on the justification for divorce which are recorded in the Torah (dating from the time of Jesus) range from limiting the grounds for divorce to infidelity (which is what the Old Testament records) to justifying divorce if the wife burns the husband's breakfast a certain number of times. Is it fair, then, to condemn Judaism for allowing divorce over a trivial matter? No. It is fair to condemn the attitudes and actions of some who claimed to be faithful Jews, but it isn't fair to clobber all Jews for the actions and attitudes of a minority.
You might respond that the minority of Muslims do not share the views you've described, but that the vast majority of Muslims do. You'd have a valid point. My only concern is that we be careful in throwing undeserved mud on people because of their religion. Remember, we have to look at the history and culture of a people, too. The majority of Muslims in the United States, for example, do not practice honor killing, forced marriage, multiple marriage, or any of the other things which horrify you so (and which also deeply disturb me).
And just because we all live in the year 2010, it doesn't mean that we're at the pinnacle of human development. That same sentiment has been put forth innumerable times in many ages, and it was no more justified then than it is now. People aren't perfect just because we've survived for a certain number of years, and societies (whether Western, Eastern, Southern, or whatever) always have more room for growth and maturity.
