We did not invade that area. They are, and always have been the invaders. Learn the history.
I suppose that this is in reference to the fact that Muslims conquered most of the Middle East in the seventh century, yes? Or the fact that failed Muslim invasions of Europe took place throughout the Middle Ages, into the Renaissance? Or perhaps it has to do with the Ottoman Empire's support of Germany during WWI?
Well, yes. Those things did happen. In each of those cases Muslim forces invaded and at least attempted to conquer the natural inhabitants of the areas they were moving towards. You're correct in the assessment that Muslims have, historically been invaders.
However, if we're going to discuss religion and warfare, taking a glance at what historians refer to as the "Age of Religious Warfare" might be a good idea. Especially since all that religious warfare centers on the West - the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics as Protestantism was founded. Especially since it shows that Islam is not the only world religion that has had more than its healthy share of warfare. Especially since despite the extreme violence promoted and propagated by the Catholic Church it is considered a "peaceful" religion today - because it is recognized that
all religion is interpretative.
Let's take a quick look at the Five Pillars of Islam.
The first is
Shahadah - total submission to the will of God. There's a recitation that is the basis of Shahadah - it goes something like, "The only God is Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger." This is an acknowledgment that, in the Islamic faith, Allah is the only God (Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, is monotheistic).
The second is
Salah, which requires Muslims to pray five times a day. There are some pretty specific guidelines: pray at this time, use a prayer rug/mat, pray in the direction of the holy city (Mecca, in case you were wondering), etc.
The third is
Zakat, or "alms-giving." Basically it is a sort of required charity with varying levels depending on how materially wealthy you are.
The fourth is
Sawm, fasting. Muslims use fasting in a number of different ways - it is considered a way to grow closer to Allah and it is considered a form of capitulation for wrongs (analogous to confession in Christianity).
The fifth is
Hajj, or pilgrimage, which requires every able-bodied Muslim to make a journey to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime. Once again, there are guidelines - what to wear and how close you can get to certain things, etc.
Those are the five pillars of Islam, the core beliefs shared by all Muslims (and if they don't follow those in some way then they ain't Muslims). These five pillars can be interpreted in a number of ways - especially that first one, Shahadah, which is the submission to the will of Allah. Where do we find the will of Allah?
The Qur'an. The only "true" version of the Qur'an, according to Muslims, is the one that is written in the original Arabic...so let's take a look at Arabic for a minute.
I think the word we're all the most interested in here is "jihad," because that is central to the Muslim beliefs on warfare. The West has always thought of "jihad" as meaning "crusade"; this is not the case. The closest word we have in English to "jihad" is "struggle."
There are two forms of jihad described by the Qur'an: Lesser Jihad and Greater Jihad.
Lesser Jihad pertains to self-defense of the faith and its followers. One of the biggest tenets of lesser jihad is the idea that no woman, child, or innocent is to be harmed in the defense of the religion.
Greater Jihad pertains to fighting the evil inherent in one's soul. It is mostly an internal conflict, although it has external factors, as well. One of the biggest tenets of greater jihad is the resistance of temptation to disregard other tenets of the faith, such as morning prayers.
So there you have it. That's what jihad is. If you read through the rest of the Qur'an you'll see that the Muslims were pretty high on themselves, but this is their holy book and that's only to be expected. They discuss the "time of ignorance" that came before the realization of Islam (they especially thought that polytheism was heretical); they levy taxes on non-Muslim men ("Jizyas"); they're even willing to forgive murder, so long as the heir of the victim forgives the murderer ("Quisas" being the fine that is levied in case of that happening).
So where does the problem come from? Well, it comes from the word "mujahideen" (literally, "struggler" or "one who struggles") and the fact that the mujahideen are considered to be on a different societal level than the qaid, those who choose not to struggle.
In certain sects of Islam, it is believed that the only way to really defend the faith is to attack non-proponents. You could think of this as being preemptive jihad and its been practiced a lot over the years. It is just as valid an interpretation of the literal meaning of the word "jihad" as those who say that it only means to defend oneself against direct attack. However, because the validity of the aggressive argument is
as valid and not
more so, it becomes plain to see that all views on jihad are interpretations of an original text.
The bottom line through all of this is that everyone who practices Islam interprets it. No Muslim alive today participated in those conquests. Many Muslims who are alive today live in just as much fear of being killed by extremists because those extremists interpret the meaning of jihad differently; moderate Muslims living in Iraq just want to be left alone (their version of "jihad" is self-defense) whereas extreme Muslims want to blow up everyone who doesn't agree with them (their version of "jihad" is preemptive). Moderate Muslims don't speak out against their wayward cousins because A) it isn't their responsibility and B) the best way to defend one's self is to not provoke an aggressor.
