MUSLIM CRUSADES Started Four Centuries Before the Western Crusades. Islamics Launched their Crusades in 630 A.D.
Western Crusades started in 1095 A.D. to Stop Muslim Invasion

The Crusades were started by the Muslims in the year 630 A.D. when Muhammad invaded and conquered Mecca. Later on, Muslims invaded Syria, Iraq, Jerusalem, Iran, Egypt, Africa, Spain, Italy, France, etc. The Western Crusades started around 1095 to try to stop the Islamic aggressive invasions. Islamic Crusades continued even after the Western Crusades.

Islam – Not a Religion of Peace
Islam has killed about 270 million people: 120 million Africans*, 60 million Christians, 80 million Hindus, 10 million Buddhists, etc.

Forced conversions to Islam have been the norm, across three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe—for over 13 centuries. Orders for conversion were decreed under all the early Islamic dynasties, under both Seljuk and Ottoman Turkish rule, and in Persia/Iran and the Indian subcontinent, etc.

Islam has been at a continuous war against non-Muslims for almost 1400 years (since Muhammad.) It is their religious mandate.

Following is a list of the major Islamic invasions preceding the Western Crusades.

ISLAMIC CRUSADES

630 Muhammad conquers Mecca from his base in Medina.
632 Muhammad dies in Medina. Islam controls the Hijaz.
636 Muslims conquest of Syria, and the surrounding lands, all Christian – including Palestine and Iraq.
637 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iraq (some date it in 635 or 636).
638 Muslim Crusaders conquer and annex Jerusalem, taking it from the Byzantines.
638 – 650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iran, except along Caspian Sea.
639 – 642 Muslim Crusaders conquer Egypt.
641 Muslim Crusaders control Syria and Palestine.
643 – 707 Muslim Crusaders conquer North Africa.
644 – 650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Cyprus, Tripoli in North Africa, and establish Islamic rule in Iran, Afghanistan, and Sind.
673 – 678 Arabs besiege Constantinople, capital of Byzantine Empire.
691 Dome of the Rock is completed in Jerusalem, only six decades after Muhammad’s death.
710 – 713 Muslim Crusaders conquer the lower Indus Valley.
711 – 713 Muslim Crusaders conquer Spain and impose the kingdom of Andalus. The Muslim conquest moves into Europe.
718 Conquest of Spain complete.
732 Muslim invasion of France is stopped at the Battle of Poitiers / Battle of Tours. The Franks, under their leader Charles Martel (the grandfather of Charlemagne), defeat the Muslims and turn them back out of France.
762 Foundation of Baghdad.
785 Foundation of the Great Mosque of Cordova.
789 Rise of Idrisid amirs (Muslim Crusaders) in Morocco; Christoforos, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, is executed.
800 Autonomous Aghlabid dynasty (Muslim Crusaders) in Tunisia
807 Caliph Harun al—Rashid orders the destruction of non-Muslim prayer houses & of the church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem.
809 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sardinia, Italy.
813 Christians in Palestine are attacked; many flee the country.
831 Muslim Crusaders capture Palermo, Italy; raids in Southern Italy.
837 – 901 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sicily, raid Corsica, Italy, France.
869 – 883 Revolt of black slaves in Iraq.
909 Rise of the Fatimid Caliphate in Tunisia; these Muslim Crusaders occupy Sicily, Sardinia.
928 – 969 Byzantine military revival, they retake old territories, such as Cyprus (964) and Tarsus (969).
937 The Church of the Resurrection (aka Church of Holy Sepulcher) is burned down by Muslims; more churches in Jerusalem are attacked.
960 Conversion of Qarakhanid Turks to Islam.
969 Fatimids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Egypt and found Cairo.
973 Israel and southern Syria are again conquered by the Fatimids.
1003 First persecutions by al—Hakim; the Church of St. Mark in Fustat, Egypt, is destroyed.
1009 Destruction of the Church of the Resurrection by al—Hakim (see 937).
1012 Beginning of al—Hakim’s oppressive decrees against Jews and Christians.
1050 Creation of Almoravid (Muslim Crusaders) movement in Mauretania; Almoravids (aka Murabitun) are coalition of western Saharan Berbers; followers of Islam, focusing on the Quran, the hadith, and Maliki law.
1071 Battle of Manzikert, Seljuk Turks (Muslim Crusaders) defeat Byzantines and occupy much of Anatolia.
1071 Turks (Muslim Crusaders) invade Palestine.
1073 Conquest of Jerusalem by Turks (Muslim Crusaders).
1075 Seljuks (Muslim Crusaders) capture Nicea (Iznik) and make it their capital in Anatolia.
1076 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) conquer western Ghana.
1086 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) send help to Andalus, Battle of Zallaca.
1090 – 1091 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) occupy all of Andalus except Saragossa and Balearic Islands.

START OF WESTERN CRUSADES
Only after all of the Islamic aggressive invasions is when Western Christendom launches its first Crusades.

1094 Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I asks western Christendom for help against Seljuk (Muslim Turks) invasions of his territory.
1095 Pope Urban II preaches first Crusade; they capture Jerusalem in 1099.

WHY ISLAMIC CONQUESTS?
Islamic scholarship divides the world in two:
1) The House of Islam (dar al-Islam): Nations submitted to Islamic rule.
2) The House of War (dar al-harb): Nations that have not submitted to Islam but must be submitted according to Islamic doctrine. Thus, Muslims (dar al-Islam) believe they must make war upon non-Muslims (dar al-harb) until all nations submit to the will of Allah and accept Sharia law.

Islam’s message: Submit or Be Conquered.

The dictionary defines imperialism as “the policy and practice of seeking to dominate the economic and political affairs of weaker countries.” This historical Islamic Jihad WAS imperialistic…and its goals remain the same.
Were all the crusaders nice men, hell no but then again are all soldiers even today? No. Let us keep in mind why the crusades began and how Islam has spent centuries trying to convince the world that they were the victims. This is like saying that Hitler was a victim of the Jews. Say something long enough and more people will believe the untruth and Islam is good at doing this.

SOURCES / RELATED
List of Islamic Attacks on America
Timeline of Islamic Crusades and Imperialism
Islamic Crusades
Muslim Crusades
Islam and Jihad 101
Video: Muslim Persecution of Christians
Islamic Jihad: Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism, and Slavery
History of Jihad
Islam, Slavery and Rape
Islam’s Long History of Forced Conversions
Islamic doctrine
A Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas F. Madden (Critical Issues in History)
(Rowman and Littlefield, 2005)
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) by Robert Spencer
(Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005)
Another Mohammed Cartoon conflagration
2006: The year of perpetual outrage
Mohammed Cartoons redux: Make no apology for defending Western values; Update: Obama bows again
Jihadi attack on Danish cartoonist

* Black slaves were castrated by Muslims as they were believed to have uncontrollable sexual appetites. While most slaves bound for the Americas were brought for agricultural purposes, slaves bound for Arab countries were used for sex and the military. Twice as many women as men were enslaved by Muslims. But most of the children born to these women were killed. The death toll from 1400 years of the Arab slave trade is estimated to be between 112 and 140 million.