Why do Atheists defend Islam?

[God of Mr. Hanky]

Not a retardent? Ok, it galvanized Middle Eastern political power for the first two centuries (also, and this had nothing to do with Islam, the ME benefited from centuries of Byzantine culture). Here's how that worked: Non-Muslims are your enemies, take them all over the world and give them either Islam or the sword if they reject it - that's the Koran for you! Their influence began to expand, they rode into Israel, and the Pope got a bee in his bonnet over that. Then rejection of Western ways, directed by Muslim fundamentalist teachers. Still not a retardent?

Simplistic down to the joke level. The Byzantine empire wasn't the first to bring culture to that region. There were much older cultures to build upon. Also, the muslim leaders and scholars built upon the old knowledge, actually advancing science and technology, whereas it stagnated in Europe. And that's putting it mildly.

Last, as I said before. Compare the treatment of jews and/or christians under islamic rule of the time with the treatment of jews in christian Europe. Compare it also to the first Crusade, where the christian fighters went out of their way to kill off most jewish communities in Germany, while passing through on their way south. And endeavor which culminated in the wholesale slaughter of the population of Jerusalem in 1099.

I do try and keep a sense of humor. Still, I would like to how how is this relevant to my point that Islam wasn't quite good for the Arab culture which it was born to, and which continues to influence most Muslims today, wherever they are in the world? Yes, the Muslims inherited a rich culture, and they destroyed it. Not immediately, and it's a fact that they continued to build long after Europe collapsed into the shitter, and also that they would have been centuries ahead of Europe today had they kept it up. The destruction of the central library in Alexandria was a huge loss to both Xtians and Muslims, ok, and European Xtians had no less a part in destroying knowledge for future generations, and possibly more so. However, here's another fact: Muslim culture continued to degenerate after al Ghazali's "reforms" - then Middle East culture continually slid while Europe eventually recovered. So, if this doesn't happen when you go fundamental with one holy book more so than some others (and there's been nothing but increasingly, and insanely violent gabble from Islamic fundamentalism since it returned in the 1980s), then how do you explain it?

Oh, right - Muslims are more violent because of America, that's it! Not like nobody ever riled Muslim countries before we did, of course not - the US invented imperialism (and I still haven't got a ride on that secret time machine which goes back to a time predating the Sumerians, DAMN)! You know most people, everywhere, have some people they're angry at, whom they blame all their problems on.