[mike182d]

Muslims must stop this self-deception. They must with honesty recognise the violence that has existed in their history in the same way that Christians have had to do, for Christianity has a very dark past.

While I agree with this article as a whole, this statement is absolutely ludicrous. To compare the history of Islam to the history of Christianity is revisionist drivel and historically dishonest.

The past of the Catholic Church is not as dark as people would like to think.

[usafsk]

It's plenty dark, I'd say. Christianity has outgrown violent conquest and coerced conversion, and it is no longer used in most of the world to legitimize unelected governments (or maybe you're also a monarchist as well). The triumph of Christianity is that it has overcome it's long, dark history. I'd say the historical parallel is useful in instructing Christians on the dangers of Islam, and Muslims on what model they need to consider.

It's intellectually dishonest to deny the violent acts committed by men in the name of Christianity. As for the past of the Catholic church, I doubt you can be reasoned with on this topic. Reminds of the time I was lectured by a defender of the Church's past about Martin Luther's anti-semitism. Seemed ironic.