Why do Atheists defend Islam?

[abaris]

Then perhaps it's just a matter of disagreement. Saying "I urge you to learn some history" just seems silly to say to someone who has a degree in it.

Because the conflict between Islam and Christianity in the Middle Ages was one of my majors. And it certainly isn't as simplistic as oh, they were motivated by religion. None of them was. And that's a huge consensus.

I won't break it down here, since there's a multitude of good books and reading material on the matter. Religion, on both sides, was used to motivate the masses with celestial promises. It wasn't the driving force for the ruling class.