Craig - your prejudice against the moslem religion is well-documented, & I've tried to take it into account.
The fact remains that Mecca was STOLEN from the Nation of Islam at the end of WWII at the point of OUR sword. The holy wailing wall & Temple Mount, etc, as well as the Christian holy city of Jerusalem, were abandoned by the Jewish ppl when they spread themselves across the globe, after they lost it all to the moslems. They had not had control of this area for centuries. Your argument is worthless still.
The moslem ppl have much to hate us for, your pride in your country or your pride in your historical knowledge or your pride in your christianity or your fear of Islam notwithstanding.
The Crusades weren't such lofty wars, either. The source, as the source of most wars, was greed, more than the urge to "win back the holy land," or "to stop the spread of Islam," for the most part. This is especially true concerning the later Crusades. That was evident in the way they filled their armies' ranks. The crusaders told their warriors that they could keep as much wealth as they could carry, Craig. All the christian countries involved, as well as the Catholic church, were seeking the moslems' wealth as much or even more than their lands, which they knew they would be hard-pressed to control.
Those moslems were rich. They were quite as adept at trading & making profits as they were at war. They were in the perfect place at the perfect time, to bring spices & silk & other resources from the east. It was only natural that the Europeans would make any excuse to attack them, & the "retaking of the (already abandoned) holy lands" was an excuse that the ppl could get behind & fight for.
Yes, I agree that in the early years, the word of Islam was forced more than coerced or persuaded (just like Christianity), & ppl were "converted" through violence (just like Christianity - look at Charlemaine, or many other European monarchs, or 80% of the popes). During those dark years, even you would be forced to agree that Christianity was just as disgusting in its treatment of those outside the faith as Islam. "Convert or die" seemed to be EVERYONE's motto during those years, NOT just Islam's.
This is an old worn-out argument that has no bearing in the present. If you cannot see that the fundamentalist christian is just as scary as the fundamentalist jew or the fundamentalist moslem, you are blind.
What FDR, along with Churchill & Stalin, did to the Nation of Islam in 1946, was the ultimate insult. The reasons for their decision weren't necessarilly so lofty, either.
Stalin wanted the jews out of the USSR. Religion was to be replaced by the state in his country, & they would not convert easilly. The UK & the USA wanted no parts of them, either, because we are more christian in nature, & were just as prejudiced against them as the Soviets, & nearly as bad as the nazis, when it came to equal treatment of those outside our norms in our courts. (We have been, shall we say, "less than equitable" in our treatment of those who don't fit in with our norms throughout much of our history, same as the rest of the world, & although I'll admit that we were often in the forefront of change in this area, it's obvious we've fallen behind the rest of the world just as often.)
The jews could not be left in Germany, in their minds (nor could they be safely left in the USSR). So, the Big Three collectively decided to rip off the Palestinians. This action assuaged our guilt for not acting earlier than we did to help the Jews during the holocaust by rewarding them with the return of "their" holy lands. This was a win/win situation, politically, for FDR, Churchill AND Stalin, & a stroke of genius, in the short run. In the long run, however, we're seeing that perhaps this wasn't the best option available...
Add to that, our actions against the various countries listed above, Craig, & we have much to apologise for, to the Palestinians, the Iraqis, the Iranians, & the Egyptians, at the very least. I'll admit that we are not the only ones who have mistreated them, but we are most often in the forefront of "questionable actions."
Try to look at things from the Palestinian view, Craig. They held the holy land. Theirs was the tribe that controlled Mecca. What an honor! Then, outside forces decided willy-nilly that they would no longer control this most holy of lands, anymore. They were stripped of their lands. Lands that they'd held for generations, gone, & the new gov't in place wouldn't allow them any representation in the gov't anymore. They went from being the tribe that had the most glory, to being an embarassment to their brethren, in a single stroke of a pen, through no fault or action of their own. Pretty sad, if you ask me.
Any of us would find ourselves full of hatred for this treatment. We, too, would be seeking to reverse these actions & punish those responsible, using any & all means available. I can certainly understand their cause, & even the means with which they attack us, the "superpower" that has virtually NO checks or balances for our actions throughout the world.
It's pretty obvious to me that our recent history of meddling HAS caused most of the current strife. Our problems in this area have far less to do with the religion of Islam than it does with our failed policies, our own greed & inability to find better energy sources, our lack of understanding concerning their culture, & our general lack of respect for those we don't understand.
SMILE - it's the safest way to spread your cheeks!
Those Damned Romans stole it !!!!
