What the Crusades controversy is about

More on the subject of Obama Compares ISIS to Crusaders:

Christian Violence: Obama Touches a Sore Spot in American Politics

By Peter d'ErricoWhat are these people upset about? One wonders whether Gilmore and Donohue really don't know the history of Christianity, or if they believe this history should be hidden. Given the sad state of education in the United States, the possibility of their ignorance exists. Equally sadly, the possibility exists that they know this history and want to hide it.5 Right-Wing Freak-Outs Over the President's Completely Accurate Comments on Christianity

The pundits forget that Christians are capable of “terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”

By Amanda MarcotteThese statements are 100% true. But the right has reacted as if Obama burned the American flag in the Oval Office. Perhaps it’s because the National Prayer Breakfast was designed to strong-arm national politicians into paying fealty to the religious right on pain of being accused of being anti-Christian. Or perhaps it was just because they’re bored. Here are five more ridiculously over-the-top conservative reactions to the President saying something that is objectively, demonstrably true about Western history.Let's be clear: The Obama Crusades controversy is over whether it's okay to hate Muslims

By Max FisherTo be crystal clear: this is not a fight over the fine-grain imperfections of Obama's historical analogy or over the implications for US foreign policy. It is a fight over whether it's okay to hate Muslims, to apply sweeping and negative stereotypes to the one-fifth of humanity that follows a particular religion. A number of Americans, it seems, are clinging desperately to their anti-Muslim bigotry and are furious at Obama for trying to take that away from them.Comment:  The controversy is about making it okay to hate Muslims and not okay to criticize Christians. Today's conservatives want to turn America into a Christian theocracy. They can't do that if people understand how Christians have persecuted and killed everyone who was different from the white male norm.

For more on Christian terrorism, see Report Documents Right-Wing Terrorism and The Logical Conclusion of Extremism.