Subduing or destroying the infidel has not been a consistent preoccupation with Muslims ! It's true that there is that admonition found here and there in their ideology, but if you consider our Christian heritage, it too has had some of that [the "go out to all the world, baptising them in the Name..." has been the premise for quite a few conversions at swordpoint, as well].
We need also to remember that Islam is 700 years younger than Christianity. Look at our "religious campaigns" 700 years ago: we were burning people at the stake, gouging them through with spikes in the Iron Maiden, and so forth.
You know, actually the overarching cause of the Crusades was this: raids on continental Europe by the Vikings precipitated a whole lot of weapon making and orientation towards battle for a considerable brace of years.
After the Viking raids subsided, the "war" economy was in danger of collapse ...until the Pope decided it was time to go wrest the Holy Land back from "the Moors".
That move was probably more pragmatic on his part than we often think, although he was not necessarily aware of it on a conscious level.
Lilly, Lilly, Lilly. Is this what you were taught in school? No offense, but that is the most politically correct package of lies, baseless assumptions, and just plain wrong history that I have heard in quite a while. And having been a history teacher for some time, I have heard some doozies.
A century before the crusades began, were you aware that Rome was besieged by islam? Or have you read of the 450 year siege on Constantinople by islam? A 450 year siege on the capital of Christiandom. Some serious historical research on your part is in order lilly. For instance, you should know that that islam had been savagely persecuting christians in the holy lands, their churches burned by muslims and their lands occupied. You should know that the purpose of the crusades was to return Jeruselum to the Byzantines who had had the holy lands stolen from them by muslim mujahideen.
By about 711, muslims had conquered and were occupying almost all of northern africa, which, by the way was christian by that time. Around that time, they (muslims) set their eye to the west. There is a rock named after the first islamist to set an aggressive foot on european soil. His name was Jebel al-Tariq and his name, over the years has been corrupted into the name Gibraltar.
By 712, muslim armies had fought deep into catholic spain. In fact, in that very year, they over ran Toledo and killed their king. From theire, the muslims headed across the Pyrenees with their sights set on france. Meanwhile back in the east, muslim armies had completely conquered and occupied the Balkans. Muslims would continue to conquer and expand their territories until the failed muslim sieges of Vienna in 1529 and then again in 1683.
After a 1000 year crusade by the muslims, the west finally threw them down. I won't go into all of the barbarism of the muslims during their 1000 year crusade against christians in the name of thier religion, but I will point out some of the places that they came that modern scholars typically ignore in the name of being politically correct.
THe first success westerners had against muslims was in about 732 at the battle of Tours (or Poitiers) in france. Even though they never actually conquered france, they attacked and pillaged for decades after their defeat in Poitiers. They invaded Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica in 827. In 846 they assaulted the outlying areas of Rome. Vy the end of the 9th century, muslims had permanant settlements along the coast of southern france, Italy, and northern Africa from which they relentlessly attacked commerse and christian pilgrims. In fact, it was from one of these permanant settlements that militants first attacked US interests. Thomas Jefferson, then secretary of state was attacked by islamist off the coast of Tripoli.
Let me boil this down for you into some straight forward facts. During the first 3000 years of recorded history, from 2500 BC until 600 AD, there is not one single record, anywhere in the world that records arabs leaving arabia to conquer, plunder, or terrorize anyone. In 622 muhammad announced the beginning of the islamic era. That announcement was made with the pledge to wage war on all of mankind. Until he died, Allah’s messenger aggressively attacked, terrorized, plundered, rapped, enslaved, beguiled or murdered everyone within his reach.
Within 10 years after his death, every arab in arabia had either been forsibly converted to islam or killed as an infidel and from that point on, arabs became the most ruthless and coveous group of people who had ever been. For the next 100 years, just to get warmed up, the sword of islam fell on the necks of the indians, africans and europeans.
Little has changed since those days. Today, in the 21st century, muslims are still responsible for over 95% of the terrorist acts in the world. If you want to discuss islamic aggression act by act, leader by leader, year by year since the year 622, I will be happy to oblige. But don't even try to tell me that the crusades were brought on by the vikings. It is an insult to both our intelligence.
forays into the Middle East are not remotely illustrative of conservatism. Unhappily, many well-intentioned people have been gulled by these people including me.
It is necessary to confront radical islam. They have been aggressors since their inception and in today's world, they are more dangerous than ever. Pretending that you can make nice with a people whose most precious wish is to see you dead is foolhearty at best simply sucicidal at worst and if it is suicidal implulses that prompt people to try and play nice with them, radical islam will happily accomodate their impulses.
