, 187). The wars that Islam fought have been rather secular, despite the fact that their government often was not. However, the same cannot be said of Christian, Hindu, and Aztec government, all which had strong ties to both violence and conquest, and indeed, while often are characterized as non-violent forms of religion (with perhaps the exception of Aztec), are equally as violent as Islam, if not more so. Perhaps the religion which has perhaps shaped the world, for better or worse, more than any other religion, has been Christianity. This is not to deny the roles of the vast numbers of religions in many parts of the world, nor which is to say that Christianity has been particularly unique. Despite the fact that the Western world likes to set European man and Christians apart from the rest of the world, their connection to imperialism, mercantilism, and social conquest is undeniably real. While Islam is seen by many as a violent religion because of its origins and the popularization of the term ’jihad,’ they have never had far-reaching imperialistic goals, nor have they preceded their soldiers with missionaries. Christians, however, as we have studied, were instrumental in the undoing of Africa, and in fact the seeds that the pious missionaries of Europe planted into African society eventually lead to the destabilization of centuries of culture and hierarchy. The missionaries poured into Africa, only to be followed by soldiers and company men - it was the foothold of the missionaries that allowed Europeans to eventually dominate the continent All of which was done in the name of “saving enlightening the heathens.” Christianity is certainly not without its bloody conquest, as the most blatant example is that of the Crusades, which were, to Christians of the middle ages, the very symbol of their faith. The Christians ventured towards the holy land with the sole purpose of killing the ‘infidels’ and rid...
