What is an academic understanding of Islam from a non-Muslims point of view?

I am not sure if this is question is off topic, but surely it is related to Islam or the understanding of Islam. The question is, **What would be an academic understanding of Islam, from a non-Muslims point of view?** In this question, one should consider all these sub questions: - What fundamental rules would one use to understand (the message of) Islam? - How is ones attitude towards scholars and their opinions? Could one agree with scholars opinions which surely are based by their fundamental rules, which might not be the same as yours? - How would one choose what is "Islamic" and what isn't? And what does one define "Islamic"? - How would one avoid choosing opinions that increases ones reason of not believing in Islam as a religion from God? - Could one base his understanding of Islam by the more salafi way of understanding it? i.e "well the salaf says this, and believes this... therefore this is Islam". - How would one interpret matters that could be contradictory? Like if a hadith and a verse in the Quran contradict each other. Would one look at that in a more objective way? I.e Analysing it by depth or just saying "I just found a contradiction!" and ignore other acceptable explanations? How would one know what true contradictions are (if there are any), and which aren't? Here is a scenario, if a muslim asks the non muslim which has an academic understanding of islam; asking him the following: "Is it halal to eat meat in Mcdonalds?" Should the non muslim scholar answer in what he knows most muslim scholars would say: "no it is haram", or may he say something like: "In my understanding of the Quran and Sunnah, eating all meat is Halal (except Pig, blood, and self dead animals, and animals sacrificed to different "gods"), so yes you could eat meat there! Even though you should know that most scholars says it is haram" I am looking for the view of a non-Muslim.