Türküm oglum ben. I'm goddamn Turkish, we wuz khans an' sheit.
Until Islam came over.
Sikerim hepinizi, DAVAM, ONURUM, SADAKATIM
Now back to seriousness:
Researched. Retort.
The Moors were Muslim Arabs that invaded Europe to extend the Caliphate. They subjugated Christians and Jews to 2nd class citizens for over 300 years between the 700s and 1100s. The "dhimmis" were forced to pay taxes and had their worship, trade, and assembly highly regulated.
There was a period of time (929-1031) where the oft-overstated peace and harmony existed. However, this was only in Spain during the Caliphate of Córdoba and the peace was really only a relaxation of the enforcement of the rules listed above.
When the Caliphate collapsed in 1031, native Europeans attempted to retake their native lands. They managed to retake most of Spain until the Berbers of North Africa were called upon and retook southern Spain for the Almoravids. The Almoravids were hardline fundamentalists who massacred Jews and persecuted Christians for the next 100 years. Jews and Christians had 3 choices: convert to Islam, flee, or face certain death or subjugation. Look up the name Moses Maimonides for more about it. This is what actually led to the Crusades. It was the final push of Western Europeans to retake their lands.
The reason that the "Dark Ages" moniker came to be used was because it was a dark time in European history. Arabs often refer to this time as the Golden Age.
Constant wars and invasions left Europe in a constant state of flux during the Middle Ages. And it wasn't the Muslim invasion that prompted the resurgence of Europe. The warming of the climate increased crop yields, the advent of feudalism led to organization of labor, and fewer wars allowed more technological and intellectual advances to be made.
So yes, I do know my history. Do you know yours? Because it seems the first attempt to colonize and subjugate occurred in Europe at the hands of Africans.
