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On a separate historical subject....
Feb. 8th, 2015 09:54 amThe next time I hear some half-bright individual refer to the Crusades as an example of "how Christianity has done horrible things", and how "The West has preyed on Islam" I will remind them, as they obviously NEED reminding;
The First Crusade was in 1095, almost 400 years AFTER 700, when the Muslim Moors began their occupation of Spain that would last until 1491, nearly 800 years. EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS.
The "Crusader Kingdoms" in the Middle East were all gone by 1291, a period of a little less than 200 years.
The Muslim Ottoman Empire began the occupation of the Balkans in 1371, and remained in the Balkans until 1912. 1912. Over 540 years. FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY YEARS.
All in all, while "Christendom" in the context of the Crusades occupied Muslim lands for 200 years, Muslim nations occupied more or less significant portions of Europe from 700 until 1912. TWELVE HUNDRED YEARS.
For some reason, people seem to either conveniently forget, not know, or not care about those facts.
While I am not arguing that the Crusades were a good thing, or that the West has not preyed on the Middle East and done its share of violence towards the Muslim world, I DO think using "The Crusades" as your bench-mark for Western aggression is both naive and stupid.
The First Crusade was in 1095, almost 400 years AFTER 700, when the Muslim Moors began their occupation of Spain that would last until 1491, nearly 800 years. EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS.
The "Crusader Kingdoms" in the Middle East were all gone by 1291, a period of a little less than 200 years.
The Muslim Ottoman Empire began the occupation of the Balkans in 1371, and remained in the Balkans until 1912. 1912. Over 540 years. FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY YEARS.
All in all, while "Christendom" in the context of the Crusades occupied Muslim lands for 200 years, Muslim nations occupied more or less significant portions of Europe from 700 until 1912. TWELVE HUNDRED YEARS.
For some reason, people seem to either conveniently forget, not know, or not care about those facts.
While I am not arguing that the Crusades were a good thing, or that the West has not preyed on the Middle East and done its share of violence towards the Muslim world, I DO think using "The Crusades" as your bench-mark for Western aggression is both naive and stupid.