And the god bothers move in and try to swamp the majority with their filth.

Viking asserts (a) "...the Crusades happened because of Islamic expansionism" and that "most of [the Crusaders'] victims were actually Christian"? These are mere assertions. Aside from the God-botherers, why is it that posters such as Viking also persist in wasting our time with undocumented assertions?

When can we have a persepctive on educational issues that does not belong to Kevin Donnelly - former Coalition minister adviser?

Boaz,

Many posters on these forums quickly spot your 'selective honesty' when talking about Islam.

First, if you practice what you preach: freedom, equality, blah, blah...then you should accept all religions as 'ways of worship'..
To claim that your faith is the only good thing and others are wrong is at best immature.

Second, perhaps the question I have for many people like you who can only see their faith in contrast for another. Why do you need an enemy to survive? I mean, would you still follow your faith if the 'other' is not there?

third is a theological question: why being so annoyed with Islam even though they glorify Jesus as a prophet? I can understand a prophet is much less than God status, but you applaude the Judeo-Christian whatever which paints Jesus at best as a Jewish reformist or a creative rabbi. Is this hypocricy or just plain ignorance?

I second WhiteWombat. Asking students to compare and contrast isn't the same as proposing a moral equivalence. This is the kind of question that might actually make for an interesting lesson. i'd hate to have to study a textbook by Donnelly.

It's a statement of the bleedin' obvious that once Islam had conquered the Christian and Jewish Holy lands, that there would come a time when Christians would wish to regain them for Christendom. One doesn't have to be a "God-botherer" to understand that. The replacement of the relatively mild-mannered Fatimids by authoritarian Seljuk Turks changed the situation of Christians in the Holy Land and from the point of view of pilgrims from Europe, their safety and access.

As for the Crusaders causing many casualties amongst Christians, it is well known that, while it was Orthodox eastern Christians who initially asked them to rescue them from the Saracens, the price they paid was rather high.

These are far from mere assertions,if you bothered, "Strewth" to put in a few keystrokes or visit a library you'd find this out for yourself.