tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post116833387300616411..comments2024-02-10T18:19:36.406-08:00Comments on Newspaper Rock: It's not just Indian mascotsRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-1168559547280259092007-01-11T15:52:00.000-08:002007-01-11T15:52:00.000-08:00I'm not that familiar with the Muslim expansion, a...I'm not that familiar with the Muslim expansion, although I know it reached its high point at Vienna in 1683. No doubt it included bloodshed and oppression, but did it also include genocidal atrocities?<BR/><BR/>Another question is who the Muslims were. Sure, there was the Ottoman Empire, but didn't other sultanates and caliphates act independently, attacking different targets at different times? That isn't quite the same as a continuous wave of Christians attacking one target (Jerusalem) over a couple of centuries at the behest of one authority (the pope).<BR/><BR/>Note also that the Muslims gave their conquered subjects a choice. I doubt any Christian conqueror was ever this diplomatic:<BR/><BR/>http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria20_1b.htm<BR/><BR/>"The people conquered by the Muslims usually faced a choice. They could denounce their religion and convert to Islam, pay a tax to continue practicing their beliefs, become a slave, or be executed. Most chose to convert. But many people paid the tax."<BR/><BR/>Anyway, your basic point is correct. If one atrocity is bad, the others are as well. Whether it's Russia in Chechnya, China in Tibet, Israel in the West Bank, or the US in Iraq, the message here is <I>stop the aggression, people</I>.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.com