The Longest Struggle
Charles Johnson
Sun Oct 19, 2003 at 11:16 pm PDT • Views: 187
A brilliant column by Ralph Peters, on the long history of conflict between Islam and the West: The Longest Struggle.
We don’t have to like the idea of such an endless conflict before admitting its existence. Well-meant denials help no one, while hindering understanding. The historical record shows that the conflict between Islam and the (Judeo-) Christian West began in the middle of the seventh century, as Muslim armies burst from the Arabian peninsula, energized by a new vision, destroying or subjugating the Christian and Jewish populations of the eastern Mediterranean.
The war never really stopped.
When Arabs complain of their victimization by the West, inevitably citing the interlude of the Crusades, they neglect to mention that, within a century of the birth of Islam, Muslim armies had swept across North Africa, through Spain, and deep into France. In the process, Christian communities that had shaped the faith were devoured.
Frank says: