“Let the Muslim be my master in outward things rather than the Latin [i.e., the Roman Catholic] dominate me in matters of the spirit. For if I am subject to the Muslim, at least he will not force me to share his faith.”
~ Patriarch Michael III of Constantinople (d. 1178 CE), the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1170-1178
(A bit of background: While Greek Orthodox Christians were free to practice their faith under Islamic rule, Catholic rule sometimes employed forced conversion against them during this period.)
Categories: Atrocities, Christianity, History, Islam
Isn’t it interesting that 200 years later the emperor Manuel 2 of Byzantium (the guy quoted by Pope Benedict) said “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
Neither interesting or relevant.
Spreading faith by the sword is wrong. Everyone knows the Byzantine empire was spread through flowers, hugs and kisses.
@ Kmak
And don’t forget the gumdrops and candy corn.
There is a difference between the spread of an empire and the spread of the faith professed by that empire’s rulers.
Something is amiss if you are unable to make that simple distinction.
That was supposed to be a reply to Kmak, I don’t know why it appears as a reply to Jacob. I thought if you clicked the blue “Reply” beneath a post it was supposed to show up as a reply to that specific post and not one two posts above it? Is that false?
@ Wulf
You have to click “reply” under the person’s name
Wulf: There is a difference between the spread of an empire and the spread of the faith professed by that empire’s rulers.
Yeah, all ancient empires other than the Islamic ones strictly adhered to the principles of secularism when they went about grabbing territory and f*kng up the local populations.