RE: Why do people on here act as if Islam if no worse than any other faith?
April 21, 2016 at 5:42 pm
I'm reading a book right now which has an interesting take on this issue. It's called The Lost History of Christianity by J. P. Jenkins and he makes the case that the extent of early muslim atrocities varied by the time and place. It was far less complete than you imagine.
As an example he mentions Egypt and North Africa. Coptic xtianity remained well entrenched among the population in Egypt and about 10% of the population of Egypt today is Coptic. In North Africa - Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco - the home of the famous church father Tertullian - it was noted that there were 500 bishoprics in the 6th century while by the 8th it was hard to find any so completely had xtianity been repressed. I'm still mulling over Jenkins' arguments for this fact but it is clear muslim invaders approached two large xtian populations in Egypt and North Africa differently and with different results. They were not merely swinging scimitars.
In the quote above he notes that xtianity in Asia - in the form of Nestorian and Jacobin movements (heresies as far as the mucky-mucks in Rome and Byzantium were concerned) co-existed generally peacefully until the 14th century when the shit hit the fan. This should be a fun read.
Quote:The particular shape of Christianity with which we are familiar is a radical departure from what was for well over a millennium the historical norm: another, earlier global Christianity once existed. For most of its history, Christianity was a tricontinental religion, with powerful representation in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and this was true into the fourteenth century. Christianity became predominantly European not because this continent had any obvious affinity for that faith, but by default: Europe was the continent where it was not destroyed.
-pg 18
As an example he mentions Egypt and North Africa. Coptic xtianity remained well entrenched among the population in Egypt and about 10% of the population of Egypt today is Coptic. In North Africa - Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco - the home of the famous church father Tertullian - it was noted that there were 500 bishoprics in the 6th century while by the 8th it was hard to find any so completely had xtianity been repressed. I'm still mulling over Jenkins' arguments for this fact but it is clear muslim invaders approached two large xtian populations in Egypt and North Africa differently and with different results. They were not merely swinging scimitars.
In the quote above he notes that xtianity in Asia - in the form of Nestorian and Jacobin movements (heresies as far as the mucky-mucks in Rome and Byzantium were concerned) co-existed generally peacefully until the 14th century when the shit hit the fan. This should be a fun read.
