the Muslim Brotherhood wants Spain the Balkans and southern Italy as well

To be under Islamic rule once more.


http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100213666/the-muslim-brotherhood-wants-spain-back-can-the-christians-have-egypt-in-exchange/
 

From the Telegraph newspaper:   "The Islamic Society of North America, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, has published an article that calls Andalusia – the hottest bit of Spain – a “paradise” that will return when “the only victor is Allah.”

 The New York Times also took up the story of Islam and Spain.... huh back in 2003!

"For radical Islamists, the key note is revenge: in one of Osama bin Laden's post-9/11 broadcasts, his deputy invoked ''the tragedy of al-Andalus.'

 "The impulse to idealize runs strong. If Andalusia really had been an enlightened society that combined religious belief with humanism and artistry, then it would provide an extraordinary model, offering proof of Islamic possibilities now eclipsed, while spurring new understandings of the West."

It didn't happen that way......  though...... The rules were based on Islam and as a result, there was an 'aparthied' system in operation.

"[Islamic] Andalusian governance was also based on a religious tribal model. Christians and Jews, who shared Islam's Abrahamic past, had the status of dhimmis -- alien minorities. They rose high but remained second-class citizens; one 11th-century legal text called them members of ''the devil's party.'' They were subject to special taxes and, often, dress codes. Violence also erupted, including a massacre of thousands of Jews in Grenada in 1066 and the forced exile of many Christians in 1126."

Was the Islam Of Old Spain Truly Tolerant? by Edward Rothstein. 2003

Lets go back to the Telegraph article.  The author outlined some good points about the Islamic rule of Andalusia but also highlighted this as well:

Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, once wrote that "Andalusia, Sicily, the Balkans, south Italy, and the Roman sea islands were all Islamic lands that have to be restored to the homeland of Islam… it is our right to restore the Islamic Empire its glory."

 Very disconcerting indeed, or to use the word in the article 'creepy'. The author finishes with this...
 

And if we’re really going to divide up the world by that logic, I’d like to make a counter offer to the Muslim Brotherhood.

 Can we Christians have North Africa back? After all, it was once a centre of Christian civilisation – some of the earliest Christian communities were found there. You want brilliant theologians – Africa gave us St Augustine. You want devotion – Africa gave us the Desert Fathers. You want beauty – Africa gave us stunning iconography. You want learning – Africa gave us the libraries and schools at Alexandria. So Andalusia for Egypt seems a fair swap. After all, those pagan pyramids can surely be of no use to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Pagan pyramids & Muslim Brotherhood, ahh...   wasn't there talk about them being idolatrous and threatened with destruction?