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Originally Posted by nitehawk
Sounds just like what the Americans Christians did to the American Indians ----- also the European Christians explores did to the heathens in South America and elsewhere
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Well, no...........
There is no parallel between the Islamic spread of their religion from its inception in Arabia and the Christian spread of their religion in the Americas.
First, you must separate the political exploration of the Americas for financial exploitation from the Christian efforts to Christianize the natives.
The Spanish explorers arrived in a quest for riches, specifically gold. They conquered the natives and subjugated them. However, they did not maim or kill the natives for the offense of not converting to Christianity. This is true for their expansion up through our southwest as well as down into South America.
And the English Pilgrims arriving on the East Coast were coming for religious freedom. There is no record of them killing natives for the offense of not converting to Christianity.
A MAJOR FACTOR in the decline of the natives is the inevitable conflict between a stone-age society and an industrialized one. The Europeans arrived with the resource of a culture that produced woven fabrics, metals, books, manufacturing, and most importantly firearms.
The natives had weapons made of wood and stone. And, often lost upon those who haven't studied much American history, until the arrival of the Spanish they didn't even have horses. It was inevitable that their culture would suffer when it came in contact with the Europeans.
IN CONTRAST when Islam was created, the religion was spread by the sword. As is happening now, the militant Islamics invaded regions and forced conversion to their faith. They did recognize that Jews and Christians had Holy Books of faith and would allow them as "people of the book" to retain their faith if they paid a tax. Others were forced to convert or die. That is how the Islamic faith spread across North Africa, and those countries remain Muslim to this day.
So, you see, there is no parallel between the Islamic spread of their religion from its inception in Arabia and the Christian spread of their religion in the Americas.
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