To tariq: Learn your history

Submitted by Richard Lion heart (United States), Apr 10, 2006 at 00:41

Your view of the crusades are quite biased, although I do not expect anything else from a muslim. However, I would expect a so called college student to get historical facts straight. Here's your answer to Lisa's question:

"You are a bit confused. crusaders were not right by ANY standards. specially not Islamic. Crusades started after a call from your pope, and your fellow christians committed all sorts of crimes including grilling children. but politically they may be right. muslim armies were freeing oppressed non-muslims(including jews) and for that they had to conquer land owned by christian tyrants. so obviously the christian leaders would want their land back so that they kill some more jews."

Where do you get this from? Muslims never invaded a land with the intention of freeing anybody. They did it to spread islam and enrich themselves by collecting the jizza tax. Muslims armies turned the subjugated people into second class citizens and I'm sure the occupied nations never asked to be second class citizens(dimmihs). Did the Spanish asked to be invaded? Did the Greeks asked to be invaded? Did the Hindus asked muslims to murder millions of their citizens? The answer is a resounding NO.

You said the muslims freed these lands from Christian tyrants. India was not ruled by Christians when the muslims invaded it and massacred millions of Hindus.
The crusaders committed crimes in the Holy Land. However that does not mean the ideal behind the crusades were wrong. Pope Urban called for the crusade after he received a plight from the eastern Christians to save them from the muslim advance.

When the Spanish launched the reconquista that freed Spain from its muslim invaders, that was a crusade.

When the Sicilians kicked the muslims out of their island, that was a crusade.

When the Austrians and the Germans and the Poles defeated the Ottomans at the gates of Vienna, and succeded in freeing eastern Europe from the Ottoman yoke that was a crusade.

So tariq remember that the crusade is the antidote to your never ending jihad.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".