In addition to which, IMO, your arguments have lots of common sense and also, compassion and kindness.
Hair, I read on an FR thread that the Crusades were defensive more than they were attacks bent on conquering peaceful Moslems.
The holy land, along with all North Africa, Byzantium, etc. had been Christian for 300+ years when attacked and forcibly converted by Muslim armies that also tried, and partially succeeded, to conquer Europe. The Crusades, therefore were an effort to regain for Christianity that which had been taken by force by Jihad. A defensive effort in other words.
The thread, "The Real History of the Crusades"has this address: http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/701492/posts
Sorry, I don't know how to link.
I enjoy history, but am not so good at it either, maybe LCS can weigh in on this.
[blush] Why thank you kind sir! That was nice!
Thanks for the link too... Perhaps I will know more about it the next time I try to talk about it!
And I have to run out too... be back later all!
The crusades were unprovoked aggression, IF you take the position that whatever territory is conquered by Moslems is theirs by right forever after. Your dates are essentially correct, except that it ignores the fact that the early Christian Empire was a continuation of classical civilization, with a difference of course. The Moslem conquest involved 'ethnic cleansing' of the original populations of the Middle East, and their replacement by a largely Arab, and in the case of Asia Minor, Turkish population.