which has received plenty of attention too. republicans only hurt themselves the longer they refuse to work with democrats to implement immigration reform.
Ok NC you want some facts? Be careful what you ask for. I would say the dissenting opinion you speak of is Islamic or anti western because the facts don't support it. First the Muslims were attacking the Byzantine empire in that time and the Emperor was asking for help. Look at the expansion of Muslim territory from about 700 on. Do you think it was accomplished be debate and voting? The Arabs weren't just peaceably living in the ME but ruthlessly expanding their territory and forcibly converting Christians and Jews (if they hadn't raped and slaughtered them). The crusades also included the reconquestia of Spain an effort that spanned 700 years ending in 1492. The Muslims first under the Arab lead continued to attack Christian lands until the 1680s. Didn't Wikipeadia tell you about the fall of Constantinople in 1454 or so? The Turks (also Muslim) took Greece, the Balkans, parts of Hungary and were at the gates of Vienna in the 1680s. All the while raping, killing and converting by the sword. You know the Jannisaries were stolen Christian children raised to be the Turks shock troops? Point is sport the crusades were nothing more than an answer to what the Muslims had been doing since Mohammad. Trying to compare the crusades to ISIS has zero basis in history. The 1000+ years after Mohammad and the was one of Islamic expansion against the Christian Lands. The Muslims weren't passive peace loving people minding their own business when those hate filled crusaders attacked the. No they were brutal aggressive conquerors evangelizing by the sword. So if you look at the real facts as shown by history not fairy tales you'll see the president was facile in his comparison. How big of a deal is it? I see it as not so much but just another piece of evidence of his shallowness.
No, they aren't equivalent, there are differences as you point out. But they are relatable and comparable. Just like Hitler will come up when discussions turn to religious genocide, the crusades will come us when people speak of holy wars. The GOP is trying to make too much political hay of this, just as with Benghazi. George W. Bush made at least seven public speeches in which he praised Islam and made the point that we were not at war with muslims, but with terrorists. Of course he was respectful of our important Islamic allies, not to be so would be a diplomatic blunder of the highest order. But when Obama does the same thing, he is castigated. The Crusade was a jihad and it was a blunder. It is quite in order to point out that this Islamist jihad is also a blunder.
"Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ," the president said. "In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ." 2 points. It is unique in the modern world. And yea, he had to throw slavery in there. If not for Christians, slavery might well be alive today..... Obviously, the christian community is still dealing with these same issues today...............
