I wanted to link and recommend two recent essays from European authors on the history of Islam and jihad. The first is by German professor Egon Flaig via Michelle Malkin's blog (the second of two articles included in her post.)
The other is by prolific Norwegian blogger and essayist Fjordman, writing this time at Brussels Journal, a piece called "Who We Are, Who Are Our Enemies; The Cost of Historical Amnesia".
I won't try to excerpt these longish essays, nor pretend to have anything to add to them by way of comment. I will simply suggest that you read them, and pass them along to people who might also benefit from the history lesson.
I might also suggest you take a look at the Andrew Bostom article on the Barbary pirates, which is linked from the Fjordman essay, and which reminds us that the current conflict with the jihadists is not the first one we have undertaken in American history.
Posted by dan at October 5, 2006 7:38 PM