[milfot]

"Almost the whole world that is islamic became muslim through military occupation."

This is just plain bullshit! The introduction of islam to much of the world was through trade, just the same as the christians. And if you take slavery, trade and military occupations to be evidence that "The real lesson is that some religions are actually militant political movements wrapped up in religion." then I am afraid you will have to say the same of christianity.

Once again, the point is that extremists / militants use religion (or any other reason) to justify occupation, oppression and murder. To fight militant-ism you have to do just two things. 1.resist. 2.not become one.

ps: were you serious about that video you linked? seems like dumb paranoid aryan propaganda to me..

[coolestuk]

"The introduction of islam to much of the world was through trade, just the same as the christians. "

Would you care to provide evidence for that assertion about trade rather than jihad? There is evidence that for areas like Indonesia & Malaysia, trade was the route. For almost everywhere else, it was by war. Next you'll be telling me that the hundreds of years in which islam used violence to dominate Spain was a Golden Age of tolerance and multi-culturalism.

Ibn Ishaq's book "The Life of Mohammed" was known by muslims for hundreds of years as "The Book of Battles". Muslims must emulate Mohammed. In the 13 years he was in Mecca, he attained 150 followers. In Medina he embraced war, assassination, slave-taking and robbery. By the time he died, all of Arabia was muslim.

Essentially, Islam was spread by the sword.

Attacking that video as "dumb paranoid aryan propaganda" is an ad hominem fallacy. Deal with the facts.

[chumma]

> In the 13 years he was in Mecca, he attained 150 followers. In Medina he embraced war, assassination, slave-taking and robbery. By the time he died, all of Arabia was muslim.

So would you please care to provide evidence to this assertion? How someone with a mere 150 followers could control a whole nation ?

[westicle]

Voldemort managed.

(http://hpmor.com/chapter/34)

[chumma]

Yea maybe history and fiction are much correlated by the way they are created and explained.

[jlgreco]

I think it is fair to say that both Islam and Christianity were spread with more or less the same mix of techniques. The two religions have a great deal in common.

However that should not be interpreted as praise of Islam. In fact, I think that comparison is extraordinary damming.

[tlear]

Not really, big coup for Christianity was conversion of the Roman empire and that was most definitely peaceful. Contrast that with how Middle east, and North Africa became Muslim

[Volpe]

erm.. but the 'spread' of the roman empire, was not peaceful. So you are really arguing the semantics of the order in which things were done.

Large group takes over world, then spreads religion. vs Large group spreads religion, and takes over world.

Yeah, REAL moral high ground there.

[jlgreco]

That is pretty much when the religious violence started...

[ucee054]

No the conversion of the Emperor was peaceful.

As for the pagan citizens of the Empire who didn't convert after that, the Parabalani made short work of them...