The issue isn't only people using religion as an excuse for keeping communities under their control, it is the shallow idiots who blame the religion rather than the people using it, or if they don't have the intelligence to work out a blame, get their opinions fed to them from the newspapers. A hammer can be used to put a nice picture up or crucify a poor bugger. Still a hammer.

I was invited to a mosque in Sheffield a few years ago to sing a few songs from The BBC Radio Ballads for a group led my a local Imam who encouraged local Muslims, men and women at the same time in the same room... to learn more about the industrial heritage of the area.

Conversely, my old RE teacher used to tell us Pop Music was the work of the devil and we will burn in Hell if we buy records...

Mind you, he used to touch us inappropriately too. He emigrated to The USA to be a preacher. You're welcome!