OK, I didn’t think I needed to go back as far as the Barbary pirates. What happened between Jefferson and Madison’s Barbary Wars and the next bit of Islamic terrorism? I ask not in an accusatory tone, but because I simply don’t have that information off the top of my head. If you could provide some links so I could read up, it would be appreciated.
On the one hand, I agree with you 100%: Islam is a cult of death that wants to raise its flag above the capital of every nation on earth. They will continue even with the knowledge that this may never happen for thousands of years. On the other hand, I think there’s a lot we can do to reduce our chances of being attacked, and I’m not sure that we should be involved in foreign intervention to the degree that we are now.
Best regards,
The Brits bore the brunt of Islamic terrorism in the 19th century.
The argument can be made that they were "there" because of their imperialism and expansion of the British Empire, but during the 19th Century they frequently found themselves fighting the Islamic hordes.
In the early 20th Century, Islamic nations aligned with the Germans in WWI (remember Gallipoli).
And of course in WWII the Moslems were all about killing Jews with the Nazis.
Prior to Stephen Decatur and William Eaton kicking Islamic tail in Tripoli, the Barbary Pirates for literally 100s of years were a thorn in the side of every western nation that attempted to trade in the Med.
I've never been a student of Islamic history, but I read Western history constantly. The amazing thing is, no matter what time period I'm reading from, there's some blakety-blank Muslim capturing or killing Westerners.
It was shocking to me to learn that during the time period of roughly the 1400s and 1500s, it was common in England that Muslims would raid seaside towns and capture slaves and kill and rape and all the other barbaric activity we would associate with them.
I don't mean to be condescending, and I'm sorry if my initial post was rude.
I do have sympathy for Paul's ideas, but I think in the modern world they are unrealistic. The Muslims are actively attempting to take over the world through a variety of means that extend beyond just terror.
By the end of the year, Mohammed will be the second most popular name in the UK.
Here’s a link to an article that talks about Islamic expansionism into the West going back to the first Crusades.
I dispute some of the information, such as this: “1683 is an important year because after that the Muslim Empire had no further military successes over the West.”
That would be incorrect. The Muslim Empire had no further military successes “in” the West, perhaps, but there’s a bunch of dead British in the Khyber Pass and around the Nile who would tell you the Muslims had victories beyond 1683.
Nevertheless, the article does give some good information.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/11/primer_on_islamic_imperialism.html
Just doing a quick search to find some links for you, there are many articles that attempt to portray modern American policy with 19th Century British policy. It’s a flawed argument, IMO, but the Islamists might not see it the same way I do. ;-)
The biggest flaw in the argument, though, is how long Islam has been spreading itself by the sword. One of the places to look to see this is in Africa.
When people argue that Christianity has done the same - spreading itself by the sword - I also see a flawed argument. Certainly Christian Kings and Prime Ministers and Presidents have extended their territorial possessions by the sword, but Christianity itself, was largely spread through non-violent monks and missionaries who prayed, helped and often died beside the people they were attempting to convert. Very few monks ever took the attitude that people should “convert or die.”
The violent spread of Christianity was for the sake of man, not for the sake of God or Jesus. The violent spread of Islam, however, is for the sake of Allah.
“On a moonlit June night in 1631, the inhabitants of the coastal village of Baltimore in County Cork, southwestern Ireland, were asleep, unaware that by daybreak their lives would be changed forever. A small flotilla of boats had sailed into the bay unnoticed. These boats, called xebec by their crews, had sailed from Sale in Morocco. They bore 230 musketeers, Muslims to a man, and they had come looking for slaves to sell in Algiers. They had no mercy for any of the town’s inhabitants as they burst into homes, setting the crofts alight. When one villager, Thomas Curlew tried to resist, he was hacked to death, and his wife was carried off. All of the elderly villagers were murdered, and by morning, the Barbary corsairs sailed off, carrying with them 130 men, women and children.”
Here’s another link. I was startled when I clicked on it and it came up as FreeRepublic! LOL. I wasn’t on the thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1812848/posts