provocative or revealing dress does not necessarily link to promiscuous behavior;
Not necessarily. There are prostitutes who wear the niqab in some places, and there are women who wear skirts who are chaste. And there are indeed a lot of Muslim women who don’t wear the headscarf who are otherwise more moral than some of their covered counterparts. But even most western guys have an idea of what a ’skanky’ girl looks like, and that look much more often includes a mini-skirt than a headscarf.

nor is such behavior, when undertaken safely, bad.
That is your opinion and you are welcome to it. However, most Western men, given the choice, will much prefer to commit to a less promiscuous woman than a more promiscuous one. Perhaps commitment and family are not important to you.

it safe to say that other religious dictates, such as charity, to name a common one, are more important than, say, the clothing one chooses to wear.
Maybe, but it’s not an either-or choice. And I would bet that those who are willingly more conscious of the “public good”/less individualistic in their dress will be more conscious of the “public good”/less individualistic generally.

What, then, does the typical christian look like?
Historically, Christian women also wore headscarves. Today, less so, but a devout Christian woman is probably still less likely to dress in a skanky fashion. Her standards may be similar to her secular counterparts, but she’s not going to go quite as low.

Do the majority of muslims wear burkas, and if not, are those who do really more representative of a faith, or just more representative, as the original author said, of the particular minority of the faith that the media tends to enjoy?

Religious Muslim women still tend to wear headscarves and the like, etc. I would say that people like Ingrid Mattson, Marlyn Moringten, Shahina Siddiqui, Sarah Joseph, and so on are far more representative of Islam than individualists like Mona are. (And as Mona is fond of saying, she represents only herself, so this won’t bother her.) But yes, in these cases, the dress itself is merely a reflection of knowledge and inner qualities.

In addition, even granting that modest and/or traditional dress makes people “better,” isn’t it safe to say that other religious dictates, such as charity, to name a common one, are more important than, say, the clothing one chooses to wear. You say that “all things being equal,” those dressed more traditionally are better representatives of their faith. What, then, does the typical christian look like? Do the majority of muslims wear burkas, and if not, are those who do really more representative of a faith, or just more representative, as the original author said, of the particular minority of the faith that the media tends to enjoy?

So sorry I didn’t contact you during my last trip which was quite exhausting – I lost my voice! But I hope to catch you next time.

Thanks Mona

At the same time, I do recognize the beard and the hijab as being more authentic modes of Muslim dress. *All else being equal*, people who willingly make that effort are better representatives of the faith than say, someone unbearded like me. Religious people *should* be more modest, and more resistant to (sometimes oppressive) prevailing notions of beauty than the typical modern person. If religion doesn’t lead to better behaviour, what’s the point of it?