No kidding, really? "A Claim of Pro-Islam Bias in Textbooks," by James C. McKinley, Jr., in the New York Times, September 22:
HOUSTON -- Some conservative members of the Texas Board of Education assert that the history books used in this state have a pro-Islamic bias, and they are upset about it.Never shy about wading into the culture wars, they are planning to vote Friday for a resolution that would send a blunt message to textbook publishers: Do not present a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian version of history if you want to sell books in one of the nation's largest markets.
"The purpose of this resolution is to ensure there is balanced treatment of divergent groups," Gail Lowe, the chairwoman of the board, said. "In the past, the textbooks have had some bias against Christianity."
The resolution was written and submitted to the board this summer by, Randy Rives, who as a member of the school board in Odessa, Tex., pushed through a Bible study curriculum.
Last spring, Mr. Rives ran for the state board but failed to defeat the incumbent, Bob Craig, a moderate Republican.
Defeat at the polls did not dampen Mr. Rives's enthusiasm for protecting Texas students from what he sees as a conspiracy to sugarcoat the history of Islam in textbooks. In interviews, Mr. Rives has likened his concerns about Islam to those he and other Americans once had about communists infiltrating American society.
Speaking to the state board last summer, he said that Middle Eastern companies were investing in American publishing houses, or the "textbook oligopoly," as he called it.
"If you can control or influence our education system, you can start taking over the minds of the young people," Mr. Rives said. "And so I think we are real passionate that you need to make a bold statement to the publishers that pushing this agenda will not be tolerated in Texas."
As evidence of Islamic influence in textbook publishing, Mr. Rives cited a 2008 decision by the Dubai royal family to invest heavily in a company that owns the publishing house Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in Boston....
I can't imagine how it's possible to have a pro-Islamic history or pro-Christian history either for that matter.
The Inquisition was not limited to Europe, as Spaniards brought it to the Americas and used it to punish the native inhabitants. Through the 1500s, 879 heresy trials were recorded in Mexico alone. Thus, other than people, the Inquisition was one of Europe's first exports to the Americas. Church leaders supported the suppression, enslavement and murder of native inhabitants - a 1493 papal Bull justfied declaring war on all non-Christian natives in the Americas. Jurist Encisco wrote in 1509:
The king has every right to send his men to the Indies to demand their territory from these idolaters because he had received it from the pope. If the Indians refuse, he may quite legally fight them, kill them and enslave them, just as Joshua enlsaved the inhabitants of the country of Canaan.
Do not be overly concerned, Americans do not seem to learn much in history class anyway.
How about just telling the damned truth about Islam in these history books.
*** Bukhari Vol 4 Bk 52 Nbr 270 ***
The Prophet said, "Who is ready to kill Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf who has really hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do you like me to kill him?" He replied in the affirmative. So, Muhammad bin Maslama went to him (i.e. Ka'b) and said, "This person (i.e. Mohammed) has put us to task and asked us for charity." Ka'b replied, "By Allah, you will get tired of him." Muhammad said to him, "We have followed him, so we dislike to leave him till we see the end of his affair." Muhammad bin Maslama went on talking to him in this way till he got the chance to kill him.
For example, Moslem and Infidel scholars can agree on the fact that Mohammed repeatedly ordered contract murders. No room for argument there.
It's right there online at the globo-socialist USC Trojan website. Moslems should be proud of their rich history and help expose its facts to regular every day Americans.
Or would that be too hurtful? Again, Moslem and Infidel scholars agree that the bloodbath at Banu Qurayza was tough on everyone, especially the Jewish men who got their heads chopped off and the prepubescent Jewish girls who were sold into sex slavery.
*** 33:26 - 27 ***
And those Jews who aided them - Allah did take them down from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts. So that some ye slew, and some ye made prisoners.
And He caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever Able to do all things.
Put that in your history books and smoke it, Texans.
I hope your not directing this at me as I am not Christian friendly or Muslim friendly I just don't want to see the Inquisition starting all over again, of course this time from Medieval Islam.
I would really like to see the Leftists get of their rears and get back in line, religion is something you do in the privacy of your own homes, we don't care to hear about it in our daily lives. I used to be Liberal and now I have nowhere to turn because the right is so Christian I could puke.
Even if we have Liberal Muslims there always seems there's fundamentalist that also come with them and unfortunately there the leaders. We need to safe guard ourselves by not bending the rules for any religion at all, that's just the facts and I think that's equally fair.
Good article. I've come across some positive and useful ways of responding to the growth of islam in the U.S. However, some may be a little too difficult to accomplish in a short period of time (e.g., outlaw sharia, stop building of all mosques, close all islamic schools, stop immigration from muslim countries).
I am from Louisiana and have been told that islam studies and/or the quran is not being taught in public schools. However, there are private islam schools there and I cannot find out if the true quran is being taught--terror, abuse, murder, jihad, oppression of women, etc.
In progression:
4)Muslim Academy, Gretna, LA; 226 students
3)Brighter Horizon School (Sunni Traditional),Baton Rouge
LA; site not available, no photos found, not rated yet
2)Sister Clara Muhammad School,New Orleans, LA; 6 students
1)Islamic School of Greater New Orleans, Kenner, LA
teaching staff--12, school board contacts--8
Academic program includes quran, islamic studies,etc.
No one has responded regarding teaching materials or specific quran used.
Maybe this is something worth considering finding out in your own state? Is islam being taught in public or private schools?
Try to take a look at a video showing islam being taught in a mosque to public school students:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7-I9Qp3d4Y
Big, fat, hairy deal. The whole number of Inquisition victims in Spain itself between 1484 and 1804, when Napoleon put an end to it, is only a few thousand, which is roughly the same as the victims of infighting among the Spanish Leftist parties during the 1930's (and this doesn't count what they did to Nacionalistas or other enemies whom they got their hands on). Yet I, for one, was raised to believe that the Spanish Republican cause was progressive, and the aging members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade a bunch of fading heroes rather than dupes.
And, for the record, all of my very small dash of Spanish blood comes via Dutch and ex-Ottoman Jews, not Roman Catholics; while most of the rest of me descends from a hash of other non-Roman Catholic peoples (including "heathens"). And I am not a RC now, either.
And, as a liberated man, you ought to know that the past is contested territory. Whoever controls it controls the future. That's good, late 20th-century and 21st century Gramscian thinking. It's why people like you and me were raised to see the past as religiously neutral by people located at various points between the 19th century American Unitarians and 1930's American Marxists--eventhough our grandfathers were taught it was all about grace and election moving us towards the City of God, or HaShem's marvelous preservation of the Jews. Or, that history was chiefly the glories of the harmonious, filial Middle Kingdom vs. the Barbarism of those beyond the Four Seas. It's why few even consider that after the 19th century's science liberated us Westerners from religious obscurantism, our civilization basically went on a murder spree everywhere where advanced thinking took root, and did in more people for the wrong political views in one century than suffered for the wrong kind of Christianity or none at all during the 15 centuries between the conversion of Constantine and Ruggles v. New York. And before you blame it all on the poor, Slavic (or real [as in Mountains] Caucaisan Uentermenschen, consider that what spared the North Atlantic region was simply too great a political legacy of decadent, pre-scientific thinking about politics.
Then again, as some of my liberated contacts in China would say, who cares about all hat human garbage? 只是垃圾人而已。
The fact of the matter is that textbooks are going to reflect someone's bias somewhere. Now that the Marxists have been proven bankrupt by their very own goddess (Our Lady of Historical Necessity), Islam's got the most noisy and assertive racket going on, and it senses rightly that Western so-called "humanists" are a bunch of effete, over-civilized cowards. So, Thereisonlynogod (although I sense you're a humanity-worshiper rather than a real atheist), buck up and be a man. Or, have you tacitly accepted that your grandchildren will worship an Arabian Black Rock rather than the infinitely creative human mind?
... religion is something you do in the privacy of your own homes...
What separates Islam and Moslems from the rest of the world is that their belief system, which comprises government and military as well as relgion, is corrective, a mistake that must be corrrected as soon as possible. The very essence of Islam is the explicit rejection of privacy.
The central tenet of Islam is that other religions are misaken, and are therefore to be destroyed. Christian missionaries thumping the bible, Hare Krishna in their saffron robes in the airport, Hindu gurus on TV, they all can be annoying. But none is trying to force their beliefs on everybody else and do it on the pain of death.
*** Tabari 8:130 ***
Mohammed said, "Two religions cannot coexist in the Arabian Peninsula." Umar investigated the matter, then sent to the Jews, saying: "Allah has given permission for you to be expelled."
Islam is unique to world history. There is no equivalent. While all religions seek to reinforce themselves through the threat of punishment, only Islam, which is much more than just a religion, considers it a captal crime to not actively join in the Cause of world takeover by the Ulema.
While communism was a coercive world takeover belief system, it relied on fake economics and rigid centralism. In constrast, Islam relies on relentless threats and attacks on all fronts, never to be stopped until its clergy is in control of all facets of life, whether you like it or not.
It's the way they present history, as we saw recently being distorted in the Boston mosque field-trip fiasco, which if I'm not mistaken, you also found distasteful.
Children are very impressionable and trusting at that age, and if a seemingly "wise" man, or woman, at the mosque tells them some BS about women having had the right to vote in 7th century Arabia, it's likely to make an impression. Impressions can be very hard to undo.
It's the same thing in History classes. Teachers tend to present such distortions as fact, not open for discussion, and as points that need to be memorized for pop quizzes and such.
Western guilt about our Western ancestors is being instilled day in and day out, and has been for years.
I've seen some of the books. Muslims are slyly presented as "creative, music-loving, art-loving, history-preserving" people, while Christians are presented as "colonizing, idol-destroying barbarians."
Talk about picking and choosing perhaps single incidents in history to illuminate entire cultures. If one wants, one can make Muslims appear to be the most benevolent people on earth, and at the same time, they can make the Christians appear to be bloodthirsty heathens.
There is nothing wrong with truth and balance when teaching about history.
"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself."
~Thomas Jefferson
Thanks, but I do not need your help. You are a troll and disruptive. Besides, you are Godless. At least these Christians have a God.
But in so many ways Moslems and their cretinious belief system make a foul combination with TV and the Internet. I wonder if it's even possible anymore to have the truth be seen as it really is.
*** 89:7 ***
Is there not in these an adjuration or evidence for those who understand?
To me that's the exciting thing about the upcoming mid-term elections. Can the cognitive power of modern man overcome omnipresent agitprop (and somnoprop) that assaults them 24/7?
Alarmed Pig Farmer,
The person who replied to your comment with "I hope your not directing this at me" is lying.
There is nothing more he would love than being noticed and engaged as that would give him yet another occasion to parade his adolescent, hopelessly primitive ranting.
As you can see if his "hoping" that you did not "direct it at him" makes him produce a solid three paragraphs of "look-how-cute-I-am-in-my-atheist-nickers" self-advertisement, you can imagine the length of his raving had you indicated your comment were directed at him.
I think that we will get stuck with the black rock worship if we don't mobilize the leftists. The right has always been seen as religious and therefore in a debate will look like it's being biased but the left is known for taking on religion and at the moment is guarding it's freedom of speech, ironic I know. We see this all over the UK and we have to take control of our Political Parties again. The Leftist Party has to go back to it's original stand on religion or we could all be wearing burqas before we know it.
My previous comment was addressed to YusufYK, not Alarmed Pig Farmer.
I am sorry for the confusion.
"I've seen some of the books. Muslims are slyly presented as "creative, music-loving, art-loving, history-preserving" people, while Christians are presented as "colonizing, idol-destroying barbarians."
I have seen the same distorions as well, however, in Malaysia it specifically focuses on Arabs as those traits.
However I found in history it is often the conquered (Egyptian, Persian, Levantine Jewish) people who contributed more to the Islamic Empires. This is not mentioned at the secondary school level. There are many more examples of this kind of thinking.
Any way religion is best left to the parents of a child, not a school. We plan on enrolling our daughter in a secular school for this reason.
Do you have some excerpts from this text book they are discussing? I am poor in searching on the internet.
" At least these Christians have a God."
I guess that means there's two Gods then, cus yours is definitely not the same God. Pagans I tell you.
Well, I agree religions wise, but these are Social Studies and History classes -- cultures and peoples.
I don't have excerpts, but some assertions that have been put forward are:
THE ASSERTIONS
The resolution asserts that in some social studies textbooks nationwide there are, in its words:
Patterns of pejoratives toward Christians and superlatives toward Muslims, calling Crusaders aggressors, "violent attackers," or "invaders" while euphemizing Muslim conquest of Christian lands as "migrations" by "empire builders."
Politically correct whitewashes of Islamic culture and stigmas on Christian civilization, indicting Christianity for the same practices (e.g., sexism, slavery, persecution of out-groups) that they treat non-judgmentally, minimize, sugarcoat, or censor in Islam.
Sanitized definitions of "jihad" that exclude religious intolerance or military aggression against non-Muslims … which undergirds worldwide Muslim terrorism.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7203033.html
------
I have a girlfriend in San Antonio who teaches High School Social Studies classses, and when I last visited her I was looking over her (teachers edition textbooks) stuff, and I saw what they're complaining about. She actually wasn't too keen on it until I shared my concern. She's sweet but a bit ditzy, so I filled her in. She was surprised and had never really "thought" of it as being a disingenuous, intentional "effort" on the part of any organization or group. Of course, it's only fairly recently the controversy has really blown up there.
And it's not just in Texas.
The best concept I acquired during my years in here is turnspeak.
I was aware of it in the form of The Big Lie theory theory, especially as it applies to communist agitprop. But once I read that posting some dude did a few years ago on the subject, I'm seeing turnspeak all over.
Certainly, Prez Dubya's Islam is a religion peace statement on national TV stands as one of the great examples of turnspeak, and one of the most damaging.
Imagine if Dubya had told the truth in his speech that night. The work of Spencer, Fitzgerald, Geller and others would have been so much easier.
*** 92:10 ***
We will indeed make smooth for him the path to Misery.
Islam more than any other ideology that I've seen is based on turnspeak. It sits at the belief system's very foundation.
As I am sure you are aware, most of us believe that the Christian and Muslim God are the same, but the Christian message was changed.
At any case I would much rather live next to a Fundamentalist Christian who hated me than a "Leftist" that pretended to love me.
We were talking about textbooks. Do you have anything to add to the topic in discussion?
Do you pay a muslim-tax? All the security costs of airport delays, bomb clearing, security checks, risk assessments, certifications, terrorism, honor murders, etc, must impose billions of dollars in costs. If you include nation-building follies, the recent total would be over a trillion.
I have no hesitation in saying that those savages reduce the quality of life by 15%, while imposing crippling security costs.
The presentation of the history of Islam bears little resemblance to the truth. How can you teach from a textbook that ignores the facts of the Moghul, and barely gives a wink and nod to Iberia?
*** 33:21 ***
Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.
For example, the facts tell us that Mohammed was perhaps the worst person in human history. And, given that his life is held out as the model for over a billion people, would it not be ok to recount his extortions, murders, robberies, tortures, pedophilia, thefts and other salient features of his life?
But if, say, the Texas Board of Education were to seriously consider approving such a text book, there would be hell to pay. The 6th Pillar of Islam has been most effective at enforcing self-censorship and fake history over the past 1,400 yeas cannot be overestimated.
I guess you just believe that God changed his mind and wanted you to sniff a carpet 5 times a day. Carpet freshener anyone?
Oh, and I do have something to add about books. All you need to do to teach Islamic history to children is have them read the Hadiths. It's pieces of gold like this that you learn what a Jacka$$ Muhammed really was.
Narrated by ‘Amru bin Maimun: "During the pre-lslamic period of ignorance I (Muhammad) saw a female monkey surrounded by a number of monkeys. They were all stoning it, because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I (Muhammad) too, stoned it along with them."
Also no one hates you, it's just Islamic religion sucks. Has nothing to do with the individual.
Hey Thereisonlynogod, do you have a reference on that hadith? That one is simply too good to let slip away, thx. Classic.
http://www.islamrevolution.org/hadithstheshameofislam.htm
This is another example of why we need to free ourselves from the state school monopoly.
Fascinating link but one has to say that drinking certain types of urine is medicinal. In West Africa cows urine was used as a sedative for epilepsy and other mental conditions and by all accounts it worked.
"I guess you just believe that God changed his mind and wanted you to sniff a carpet 5 times a day. Carpet freshener anyone"
What a troll ^_^
With respect, Yusuf, "most of us" at Jihadwatch do NOT believe that the Christian and Muslim God are the same; absolutely not. Unless "God" is a peculiarly fickle entity who after much demonstration of His love suddenly decided to transfer His love to a gang of thieves and murderers and abandon those to who He formerly gave His only-begotten Son...? "Most of us" can't see either the logic or the morality of such a God Muslims claim to share with Christians.
H'mmm...I think I meant "to whom".
Religion has at one time or another declared every natural phenomenon to be the act of a god or gods. Lightening, thunder, earthquakes, pestilence, floods were all preached to be the result of some god’s wrath.
Religion has been WRONG about every single claim. As science has peeled the onion of nature, all of these divine acts have been explained as very non-magical, natural events. All that’s left to religion is the claim that creation itself was a divine act. Given religion’s track record, I’d say it’s a pretty sure bet its wrong about that too.
There is no reason why modern high school textbooks can't mention the estimated 270 million infidel dead victims of Islamic jihad. Or that the history of Islam is simply the history of jihad. Or that the spread of Islam is "sheltered by the sword."
Gosh, American high schools will just love to study something like that! It makes those horror movies they watch look tame by comparison! Islam = the new Freddy Krueger!
"Yusef YK replied to comment from Thereisonlynogod | September 23, 2010 2:59 AM | Reply
Thanks, but I do not need your help. You are a troll and disruptive. Besides, you are Godless. At least these Christians have a God."
Yusef: Godless? That's their business, isn't it? As long as they are decent, law-abiding people.
It's not for you to judge.
An Amazon Goddess Nature worshipper
This article on MSNBC is better than the one in NYT:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39311882/ns/us_news-education/
Thanks for the history lesson but be careful your comment isn't interpreted as an attempt to equate 15th century Christian atrocities with 21st century Islamism unless that is your intent, in which case, say so. In either case it should be noted that violence committed by Christians or any other religious faith or cult at any time, past or present, does not exempt Muslims from the consequences of the violence committed in the name of Islam in the modern world. If Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. were still engaging in violent human rights transgressions today...........fill in the blanks. If you know of any modern day violence from any major religious group other than Muslims please relate and enlighten us all.
Here we go again!
At least somebody in Texas is standing up for the rest of us. Don't mess with Texas!
I would REALLY like to know why the Left try to push the Islamists into our faces so hard.
They have managed to do this in England by shouting "racist" at every protest against this islamification.
The Left must know that their promotion of homosexuality would get them into real trouble in an Islamic country under Sharia law. They must have heard about the homosexuals put to death by Islamic courts, sometimes when they are little more than kids.
The Left must know that there is NO equality of the sexes in muslim countries. The women are just chattels, belonging first to their father for him to do with as he wills, then to their husband for HIM to do with her as he wills. Wives are often killed if they displease their husband OR father. They call this "Honour" killing. There is NO honour in this bullying barbarity.
In England we have 1st schools where Christmas is pushed aside to accomodate Eid.
In England, we have council staff being told not to eat in work hours during Ramadan. I don't think this took off but the thought and request was there.
In England people have had police call at their front door to demand they remove ornamental china pigs from their windowsills - because it MIGHT offend a muslim passing by.
This has gone way past any tolerance level and has to end now. We, like the US, are supposed to be a democracy, not an islamic republic.
It is much worse than you think, America's schools and universities have submitted to Islam, all Islamic content in school textbooks in America must be approved by Islamic councils in accordance with Sharia law. The approved content is essentially a "whitewashed" politically correct version of the last 1400 years of Islamic history. One case in point is the 2004 California Middle School textbook "History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond" published by Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI) and approved by the California State Board of Education. I was outraged to find politically correct distortions, inaccuracies, propaganda, and outright lies about Islam! The text painted a rose colored picture of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad and failed to cover any of the negative aspects of Islam such as the fact that it is a totalitarian ideology that has long since declared war on the West and whose stated goal is total world domination under an Islamic Caliphate. Furthermore, no course at college level in America uses critical thinking regarding the history and doctrine of Islam. Under Islam nothing about Islam may be criticized.
Recently... we heard of students from the Wellesley Middle School near Boston being taken on a field trip to a mosque in their area to learn about Islamic architecture! And in the process they received Islamic indoctrination!! All Americans should be outraged that this is happening to our young and impressionable children. Moreover, I find it very disturbing that the Wellesley Middle School, TCI, and the California state school system have facilitated the targeting of our children with this Islamic propaganda under the guise of education.
No wonder most Americans are totally ignorant about Islam and the existential threat it poses to America! Stealth jihad is alive and well in America's education system!
There is no proIslam bias in any text book. As one rednecked I know those Hater of Islam want to change the text book. The Crusade wasnot than defencive war but than act of invadeing the holy land, you donot wage defenive war 500 year after the fact and travel afew thousand miles to do. The crusade armies loot and pillar and rape they way across the Eastern Roman Empire and Christian States in the Balktan.
Yes, I apologize, sometimes I like to play Devils Advocate but as we all know it is almost impossible to do this with Islam.
As far as books go I think that the Quran is often explained to us non-Muslims by Muslims in a different light and definitely never explained to us in the Arabic versions that the Terrorists have gotten correct to the letter. The Quran calls for Jihad 24/7 365 days of the year in over 109 verses of violence through beheadings and amputations.
Jihad is explained to us as an inner struggle but nowhere in the Quran does it mention this, only quite the opposite.
Quran (4:95) - "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward,-"
This passage criticizes "peaceful" Muslims who do not join in the violence, letting them know that they are less worthy in Allah's eyes. It also demolishes the modern myth that "Jihad" doesn't mean holy war in the Quran, but rather a spiritual struggle. Not only is the Arabic word used in this passage, but it is clearly not referring to anything spiritual, since the physically disabled are given exemption. (The Hadith reveals the context of the passage to be in response to a blind man's protest that he is unable to engage in Jihad and this is reflected in other translations of the verse).
Quran (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them"
No reasonable person would interpret this to mean a spiritual struggle.
There is no pro Islam bias in any textbooks because there's no such thing as pro Islam. The world is in reality defending itself from Islam and always will.
Consider the example of the Qurayza Jews, who were completely wiped out only five years after Muhammad arrived in Medina. Their leader opted to stay neutral when their town was besieged by a Meccan army, sent to take revenge for Muhammad's deadly caravan raids. The tribe killed no one from either side and even surrendered peacefully to Muhammad after the Meccans had been turned back. Yet the prophet of Islam had every male member of the Qurayza beheaded, and every woman and child enslaved, even raping one of the captives himself (what Muslim apologists call same day "marriage").
This post is laughable, considering all you ever add is bullshit.
Now you are talking. Please no mre "all religions are bad"; this kind of talk just wastes our time.
Paul Ashley: I am not sure I agree. We certainly need to reform the state education system, but remember it was developed as a means of free and equal education for all. The problem with private schools (apart from sometimes questionable curricula) is the question of money. When we have Saudi Arabia supporting high schools in any way, the schools are in trouble. We have seen this already here in Australia with a Christian school giving outrageous da'wa to the students. The school receives money from an Islamic business and is also touting for overseas Islamic students: the overseas student phenomenon is becoming quite an earner for the schools (and providing a foot in the door for citizenship for the students and, of course, their families). If you want an education free of Islamic indoctrination for your kids, I would probably reluctantly say government schools - but make sure you get onto the school committee so you can see what's going on.
Again I apologize, I just wanted to know what kind of people I was dealing with and the only way I could find out was with guns a blazing. As you can see I have no need to continue on with this angle.
It is sad however that in one of my attempts to play Devils Advocate I pointed out that Jewish Terrorism was higher than Islamic terrorism and even supplied you with the link to prove me wrong. Very few people caught this one. I in fact didn't invent this ridiculous idea but stoled it from LOONWATCH, which in it's article and their own pie chart which is not in the F.B.I document they claim to get it from but if you look closely Islamic terrorism towards the west is in fact in the high 90's in percentage, dominating any other terrorist groups.
I was surprised to see that no one called them out on this one and wanted to see how the people of JIHADWATCH might react. The best hands down comment to the suggestion of Jews attacking the U.S was from Alarmed Pig Farmer, in which he wrote.
Jews are attacking the U.S.A, and according to the F.B.I more than Islamic groups.
Fictive. Reality. This is a reel Fictive Reality.
*** 9:123 ***
O ye who believe! Fight the Infidels who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Allah.
The Jews did it. The Jews are doing it. Just take a look at the Bill Gates Network MSNBC. It's so obvious. At least is obvios to Keith. And you can bet that FBI special agents are watching, these are the dudes who let 9/11 happen.
Oh one wishes for a Jew man who would stand in defense. But there are none. Ain't been none sense Khaybar, unless you count the Jews who stood up during the period of 1966 to 1973. Those were the daze. Bibi, what do you have nowadays?
@thereisonlyetc...
TROLL! What are you about 12?
You write like an imbecile and you're a truther too.
T R O L L !!
لن استسلم
People like Drewbenstein are the exact kind of people that I would like to separate myself from on sites like this that sometimes just attract people who want to pitch hate speeches. I am in fact an Atheist and do feel that some people of other religions would enjoy it if I were executed for my Infidel beliefs or lack of beliefs to see life your way.
I don't believe that I need to insult you back on this one as you have done a good job of it yourself.
As for being a TRUTHER, I do not believe that the Government planned 9/11 but that some of the people in the Government definitely have some responsibility as they did not prevent this disaster given the information at hand. As we can see several Governments all over the world are continuing to fail similarly. If we can not look at facts for what they are, fearing that we will be called TRUTHERS then we will never set the facts straight.
Drewbenstein, thank you for your post, it only goes to prove the point I was trying to make that a rampage of hate does not help this situation in any way and that people like you are prejudiced in so many other ways yourself.
I indeed welcome the TEA's sharp message to the publishers; and I pray that they will back up the threats with some sharpened collective teeth.
As a former Texas resident and teacher, I know that the Lone Star State is the second largest market, alongside California, for trial textbooks and sales. As goes Texas, so go the other states.
OMG, you are claiming that Jews are attacking the United States. What a lunatic you are!
Mike, please forgive me for having fed the latest troll. Maybe it's my Scandinavian heathen (later Lutheran) blood asserting itself.
Yusef, I will try to be more respectful in my arguments. Knowing something of the history of your quarter of the globe, I can see why you might be just a little more wary of Leftists than of fundamentalist Christians (your Chinese population in Malaysia has more than a few of us). Just say I'm a fundamentalist Christian who has a lot of disagreement with Islam--although nothing personal with lots of Muslims (including Malay people).
The Crusades were not a defensive war but an act of invading the Holy Land; you do not wage a defensive war 500 years after the fact and travel a few thousand miles to do so. The Crusader armies looted and pillaged and raped their way across the Eastern Roman Empire and Christian tates in the Balkans. -- DefenderofIslam (edited for spelling and grammar)
The narrative of peaceful Muslims being attacked unprovoked by the Crusaders was written by Muslim historians. It is a simplistic and one-sided view of history that whitewashes the story of the Islamic conquests and its many depredations when Muslim overran what were largely Christian territories, and has been dissected many times on these pages.
A list of Muslim military actions from the time of Muhammad's death in 632 CE up until Urban II launched the First Crusade in 1095 CE can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/islamicthreatsimplified/a-religion-or-political-ideology/islam-has-done-it-before . It shows a continuous string of military aggressions across those 500 years you mentioned, DoI. Hardly a picture of peaceful Islam, wouldn't you agree?
An excellent account that puts the Crusades into the context of the aggressive actions of Islam and the general geopolitical situation at the time can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/islamicthreatsimplified/a-religion-or-political-ideology/islam-has-done-it-before .
Christian Europe, which included the Byzantines, had lived under continuous threat from Muslim invasion throughout the entire period stretching from 632 - 1095 CE. The Crusades launched in 1095 were a response to a cry for help from Constantinople Christians to their brethren in Rome for assistance following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 CE, where Muslim armies defeated the Byzantines.
The bottom line? It was the armies of Islam, starting with Umar, swarming out of Arabia like angry hornets and attacking anything they encountered, that set the tone of history in the Middle East. You parrot the typical views expressed by Muslims who view themselves as victims, when in reality the true victims were those unfortunate souls slaughtered in droves by Muslim armies in their spread across the a stretch reaching from Gibraltar to the Ganges and beyond. Muslim historians may have had a captive audience for their fairy tales of Islamic glory, with no one to challenge them, but those days are gone. The Internet has made it possible for people like Robert Spencer, and me in this note, to challenge your view of history.
Wonderful thing, this kuffar invention called the Internet, isn't it? Has anyone from your world ruled on whether it is haram, yet?
Correction to my previous post: The second link describing how Islamic aggression led to the Crusades should be
http://www.islam-watch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351:crusades-response-to-islamic-aggression&catid=92:john&Itemid=58
DefenderofIslam, read through the material on the links I have provided. Study them closely. Do you still think that the Crusades were completely unjustified?
All of this is interesting, but I will stand for the truth about our nation and how it came into being. I understand that our history in some cases was not at all the best but other times of greatness. The important thing is have we learned something from all of this history or are we going to continue all of our petty arguements on what religion did or did not due? I also understand that all of us have our faults whether great or small. We as a people have to come together knowing that we all have faults, but the truth of the matter is whether we like it or not this country was and has a great religious heritage. Like it or not it is ours if we call ourselves Americans.Turning our back on the truth of these facts is pure ignorance and falisy and I believe that the truth good or bad ought to be tought to our children and when they become adults they can decide whatever they like about our country, but to teach as though Christianity did not play a part in developement of this country is teaching our children hypocracy. Why is it when we stand along side of the Jews and held on to good moral values we have went long periods of time without trouble, but we start getting a little arrogant by letting our morals slip and try to appeases all of those outside of the Jews and then, all hell breaks loose. Our country is going into the trenches and if we do not do anything right now we will get to know what Sharia Law is really about and the ones who will suffer the most is the women and children.
Will you defend me my brother?
I pray that you would, many men died for this country good or bad and we need to carry the torch as well they gave us somethingworth dying for and we are giving our children nothing but shame.Many Christians have gotten it wrong in the past, present and probabley even in the future, but we need to ask ourselves" Can you and I rise above this and make America greater, to leave our children with some sense of pride in the country God chose them to be born to". Have you ever thought all of us did not have a choice on where we would be born? I am proud to be an American good or bad because my father told me that I may not agree with everything but if I stand on the truth always that it will never fail me. Thank you for your time.
History should teach the truth, i.e. the facts, about important events that have happened and helped shape civilization, cultures, and people in the world, and their political divisions into countries, states, etc. The proper lessons that a factual history can teach us are lost when untruths are included, or when misleading information is presented. When everything presented about Islam is favorable, and everything presented about Christianity is unfavorable, history is being used to mislead. History students are being taught that Islam is good, and Christianity is bad. To properly present factual history, bias must not exist in the text. This means that there must be a balance in the presentation of historical facts. If you are going to present one unfavorable thing about one religion, you should present one unfavorable thing about all or most religions. And vice versa for favorable things. Various history textbooks in Florida, Texas, and other states do not do this. New unbiased history textbooks must immediately be found and used in public education in these states. I believe that this was the message implicit to the article by James C. McKinley.
Good post, Spartan.
You said: "This means that there must be a balance in the presentation of historical facts."
Indeed you are correct. I would agree with the general sentiment, but as with so many things the devil is in the details, so the concept of "balance" needs to be examined carefully. The mere presentation of "facts" is not, by itself, enough to achieve balance. They need to be accompanied by a metric indicating the degree to which the facts were important to explain events. Some things are simply more important than others. Others, while they may be intresting in a pedagogical sense, are unimportant when considering the tide of events. Except for American encounters with the Barbary Pirates, Islam had no projection into the American psyche during the early years.
Obama's disingenuous statements about important contributions of Islam to the founding of the United States is an example of taking a relatively insignificant aspect of history and elevating it into significance purely for political purposes. While it is true there were a few Muslim slaves in the early colonies, the statement that they played any significant role whatsoever in the accompanying public discussion is both crazy and insulting to students of history. The fact is that Judeo-Christian concepts, not those of Islam, nor of Buddhism or Hinduism or Aztec virgin sacrifice for that matter, were what informed the Founding Fathers. If it were otherwise, one would see a few turbans in the paintings of the Continental Congress, and see names such as Omar and Muhammad or Hasan or Ali among the signatures on the Declaration of Independence. Where are they?
Good post, Spartan.
You said: "This means that there must be a balance in the presentation of historical facts."
Indeed you are correct. I would agree with the general sentiment, but as with so many things the devil is in the details, so the concept of "balance" needs to be examined carefully. The mere presentation of "facts" is not, by itself, enough to achieve balance. They need to be accompanied by a metric indicating the degree to which the facts were important to explain events. Some things are simply more important than others. Others, while they may be intresting in a pedagogical sense, are unimportant when considering the tide of events. Except for American encounters with the Barbary Pirates, Islam had no projection into the American psyche during the early years.
Obama's disingenuous statements about important contributions of Islam to the founding of the United States is an example of taking a relatively insignificant aspect of history and elevating it into significance purely for political purposes. While it is true there were a few Muslim slaves in the early colonies, the statement that they played any significant role whatsoever in the accompanying public discussion is both crazy and insulting to students of history. The fact is that Judeo-Christian concepts, not those of Islam, nor of Buddhism or Hinduism or Aztec virgin sacrifice for that matter, were what informed the Founding Fathers. If it were otherwise, one would see a few turbans in the paintings of the Continental Congress, and see names such as Omar and Muhammad or Hasan or Ali among the signatures on the Declaration of Independence. Where are they?
(My apologies for the double post.)