I didn’t take it as an insult, I understand you to be asking what philosophical justification there is for not killing myself.
But I answered this during the debate:
Often we don’t even have a choice about self-preservation: I jump out of the way from the oncoming car or pull my hand away from the fire without any rational reflection to speak of, as would anyone of any faith. Taking other steps that avoid death are similarly supported by a-rational instincts: avoiding spoiled foods, fearing the woods at night, fight-or-flight response to physical threats of all kinds.
Continuing to live is the default position. I would need a reason not to keep living, and I don’t have one.
Why isn’t that a satisfactory answer?
EDIT: Sorry, I meant to respond to this as well.
I agree with your point. Poverty is the root of many stereotypes.
Although I don’t know if they’re entirely separable. I did some research in grad school on the connection between Islam and economic development, particularly with respect to usury and land use. I can’t point to specific Quranic verses, and my recollection is imperfect, so please correct me if I’m wrong.
Like Christianity, Islam prohibits usury, i.e. charging interest on a loan. Unlike Christianity, that prohibition is still followed in a lot of the Muslim world. That makes it much harder to secure capital for projects, and stifles development. It also leads to wasteful workarounds – I’ve been told (by Americans living in the Middle East) that in some countries building projects often go unfinished because of clauses that require a bonus payment to a lender upon completion.
The question of land use I remember even less well, but it was something to do with the land not being fully owned by the person using it, which leads to extractive uses that pay off in the short term but aren’t sustainable, and leave the land less usable for the next person that occupies it.
These kinds of obligations exist in lots of religions, so it’s certainly not unique to Islam. But the prohibition of usury in particular is a severe economic limitation. I’m not sure exactly what happened in Christianity that made them ignore a similar prohibition, though I believe it was followed for centuries (and is the origin of certain stereotypes about Jews, whose book contains no such prohibition).