There is a quote ............... from some monk back around 700-800 AD, no one is sure of the author or the exact time it first appeared. This was during some of the heyday of Islamic expansion in the Near East and Middle East. Then, like now, it was easy to point the finger at Muslims and use their actions as carte blanche for doing just about anything in the name of "preserving" Christianity. This monk condemned them for acting outside the teachings of Jesus to protect themselves or to further ambitions.
"They hide their faith, and they divulge to them (i.e. Muslims) what suits them. They stray off the road which leads to the kingdom of heaven - hypocrites among us, marked with our mark, standing in our congregations, contradicting our faith, forfeiters of themselves, who are Christians in name only."
Western Civilization survived the Dark Ages becuase of monestaries in western europe that salvaged and preserved literature and ideas that would have otherwise been lost. Development there would have been pushed back at least a hundred years if not for the work of those monks. Many times those same monestaries provided sanctuary for the persecuted, providing them with safe havens when they would otherwise have perished. What of those individuals who left homes and family to serve those less fortunate in distant lands? The people who cared for lepers and the priests who went with the armies in time of war to provide comfort to those who could not be saved. What did they ask for? Who were they trying to con? Read the bible and tell me where it says its ok to do any of the things you complain Christians are guilty of? Where does it say its ok to kill people or to con them out of their money or to belittle or demean others? At best an argument can be made that it allows you to fight in self defense, or in the defense of your faith if someone attacks you because of it, but nowhere does it give approval for killing outright, nowhere does it give approval to anything else I mentioned. Matter of fact, the only straightforward statements in the Bible on these issues pretty emphatically say not to do them. So tell me its not easy enough to tell who the people who deserve the title of Christian are. All you have to do is look. What does the Koran say about dealing with Jews and Christians? What did Muhammad say about this? Here we are fighting each other after all. Have been for centuries. Lets see what he said.
"Dispute not with the Peole of the Book save in the fairer manner, except for those of them that do wrong; and say, 'We believe in what has been sent down to us, and what has been sent down to you; our God and your God is One, and to Him we have surrendered'."
The Koran REQUIRES that Muslims respect the Ahl-al-Kitab, or "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians). In other words, Muhammad recognized that all 3 served the same God and should respect one another. So much for that eh?
Even when the empire the Muslims were building settled, when they controlled most of the Near East and Middle East, rather than internal conflict they co-existed with Christians and Jews, and even some leftover Zoroastrians from the Persian empire. Yes they segregated the others somewhat, but other than a tax and prohibitions againt marrying Muslims they were left alone. Indeed, the civilization they built collected all the learning of old Rome and Greece together in one place, provided open trade routes to more lands than had ever been connected before, established schools and hospitals that were far ahead of their time. How much sooner did we develop practical Astronomy because of their work, both in collect previous work on the topic and in the work they did as well.
You cant just dismiss the good religion has done in the world. Nor should we ever dismiss when they do wrong.
