I think that the point u mentioned about reading NAMAAZ 5 times a day- doing salaat is understandable- it is a way of helping the person to always be acknowledging Allah throughout the course of the day ... and i suppose if u are always Appreciating and remembering Allah then it is just as good but Salaat is the preferred version of this because not only does it continue ur rememberance of Allah but it also keeps u pure and clean... in a deeper sense than just the process of physically washing washing urself i believe...
Afterall the prophet Muhammed - peace be upon him- taught us to pray to show our dedication not to the world but to ourselves since we are conciously making an effort to please Allah... these are my thoughts on it ... u dont have to agree
i'm not asking u too but understand wer im comin frm (y)
XxX