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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (229858)	5/5/2007 8:23:11 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Cogent post, RCG. Accurate and on point. The Muslims are not the only ones who engaged in forcible conversion. The Christians did too. Particularly so during the reconquest of Spain. The Muslims and Jews were given the choice of converting or leaving all, including their native land, behind. Yeah, you can say they were given a choice. Some choice. For many it proved a bad choice, for then the authenticity of their conversion was questioned and rumors of secret Jewish and Islamic services and prayers were heard- -and the Spanish Inquisition came to life, with all it is reviled for. Many of those conversos soon found themselves jailed, tortured, and killed.

To: one_less who wrote (229858)	5/6/2007 11:58:19 AM
From: Rambi	Respond to of 281500

Forced conversion has occurred throughout history. That's certainly true. Christianity is quite guilty of that. From that aspect, Saddam was actually a protection. He was secular, using religion only if it served his purpose. He kept the religious extremists under control in Iraq. He kept everything under control as much as he could (though in much of the north he had much less control). This doesn't mean I approved of him; he was a terrible sociopathic personality, but I don't believe he was interested in making me wear a burka, nor do I think he ever could have. We inteferred without considering how the removal of his control would change the balance so drastically. The connections with Al Qaeda were tenuous. We should have remained focused on Bin Laden, and a different kind of warfare other than "Shock, Awe, and Oh, Damn, Now What?" in dealing with Saddam. Obviously, that's just my personal opinion. Here in America, where we are 90%+ Christian (at least nominally), we have managed to avoid total domination by that one majority belief system, and stayed tolerant of others (though we struggle mightily with that). I find that remarkable. I don't believe that we would ever allow any other religion to be forced upon us. It is absolutely contrary to the way we think. I don't think this is about the intensity or depth of commitment of a person to his own religion, as much as a reflection of our belief in the individual and his right to choose.