[Skunk]

I have on occasion to have been there...my thoughts....I prefer the use of toilet paper to the local tradition.

When you show this much respect to local tradition, it should come as no surprise to you when your thoughts are reciprocated..

I prefer deoderant to none.

Personally, I prefer folk who wash frequently to those who are determined to go without washing for days in the mistaken belief that, with deodorant, no-one will notice.

I prefer fixed prices to haggeling,

Fair enough - but haggling goes on where-ever you are. I would be surprised to find one western home-owner who didn't haggle the price - or someone who didn't haggle with a car dealer...

I prefer less deadly religious oppression,

There is almost no religious oppression in the middle-east - there may be cultural oppression - but religious oppression is no more common there than it is in the west.

and I prefer that thieves not have their hands cut off,

But crime (especially violent and sexual) is *much* lower than in most western countries - which has prompted at least one nation to instigate equally harsh measures, like the "3 strikes and your out":

"If an individual is charged with growing a single marijuana plant, and he has on his record two qualifying prior convictions, he's dog meat," said Jerome P. Mullins, a San Jose, Calif., criminal defense lawyer who has had several clients prosecuted under the state three-strikes law.

"He's looking at 25-to-life for growing a plant."
http://www.amend3strikes.org/_news/040102.htm

I also prefer that women not be treated as property,

So does the middle east - that's why pornography, strip joints etc. etc. are outlawed there and why women in islamic countries have *never* been considered as property - unlike in the west.

I prefer to drink alcohol if I wish,

Of course - but it is a drug that leads to violent disorder and thousands of deaths every year (not least as a result of drink drive accidents).

I prefer not to have relations with my camel

??????

and I prefer western civilization to that of the middle east.

Fair enough and although you are reading this page in greek letters, I bet that you are still using arabic numbers...

to emphasize one of my all time favorite examples of something I don't like from the arab nations. (this is a quote and not my personal observation) "While on a support mission I noticed that the women would remain a few paces behind their men. The man boldly leading the way through the streets. On a followup mission I noticed that now the women lead the way and not the men. I asked one of our local interpreters what the deal was. His answer was one word." Landmines!.

This emphasises something that I don't like about western nations - ignorance.

In poor societies, the only way to make money is through heavy manual labour. If the man dies, the family will literally starve to death - if the woman dies, the family will continue to survive. Harsh realities exist in harsh societies.

As for women walking behind men, this was a cultural tradition (not religious) - the idea behind it was for the man to keep ahead and provide protection to the women from those who would harass, to act as a shield in busy crowds so that the woman would not be 'accidently' touched by male members of the crowd, etc.

Finally, there have been more female heads of state in muslims countries than there have been in western ones - some western countries have never even had a female president/prime minister! Talk about inequality, eh?