Problem is, today's Islam has somehow managed to convince many in the west of their view of history.
The Ottoman empire was a tolerant state, not a brutal oppressor (as any Greek, Serb, Bulgarian or whatever about that!) yadda yadda.
Strange is that double standard.
I'm pretty sure that Muslims killed far more Muslims in the middle ages than the Crusades did.
Godefrey's Crusaders may have massacred 30,000 in Jerusalem, but the Crusader state let Muslims in afterward pretty soon after that.
But didn't Timur Leng (Tamerlane) raze Bagdhad, killing 70,000?
Timur was a muslim as was his army, as were the citizens of Baghdad.
Timur's Mongols destroyed the libraries of Bagdad, while the Monks that followed the Crusaders eagerly took home everything they could find on science.
As someone mentioned the Turks. They may have given the death blow to the Byzantine empire, but most of the early conquests of the Seldjuks and Marmeluks were brutal occupations of arab and persian muslim countries.
I suppose turks massacred more arabs than any Crusader army ever.
To prove that point, the actual holiest of the relics in Mecca is the black stone.
This is most likely a meteorite worshipped in Mecca since ancient times (no one can be sure as no muslim site is allowed to be scientifically examined). Mohammed himself had it set into its place as a cornerstone of the Kaaba.
Problem is, the stone is broken and is held in place by silver bracings.
Who broke that stone?
It was during sectarian fightings in the 12th century that a muslim sect from Yemen took Mecca, massacred a lot of people and took the black stone with them, during which it apparently broke into pieces.
