Islam is a troublesome religion which has fought against Christianity even up until now. It started with a man named Mohammad who had gotten a monotheistic worldview previously from Christians and Hebrews. But that is about all that he got from them. The god of Islam is a mean, distant, unmerciful warrior god who is pretty much the polar opposite of our God.
Their beliefs are shown to be very different than ours in their "Bible" of sorts, the Koran, and their set of rules, the "Five Pillars of Islam". These are as follows:
- There is no god but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet.
- Pray five times daily, and once publicly on Friday.
- Observe Ramadan (fast during the day and pray).
- Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.
- Give alms to the poor and unfortunate.
They are not all evil, as shown by the fifth rule, but the things they will do to try to convert others to their religion is atrocious. They were the sort who converted by force, and would kill anyone who didn't believe.
They started in Saudi Arabia and swept across the top of Africa and into Spain, but were fought off before they could get into France. The details of their repulsion will be covered later. Then they tried to get into Europe around the other side of the Mediterranean. They eventually were able to take Constantinople, and turn it into what is now Istanbul, but they were always fought off before getting in. An example of this is Vienna, where they were fought off by Leopold I.
The reason they want to conquer so badly is because they believe the land once belonged to them, and is therefore rightfully theirs, and they will do
whatever it takes to get it.