Although the conflict between Islam and the West is not an aberration, but a continuation of history, the strategy of those who seek to whitewash and thus empower Islam is to fixate on peaceful aberrations while suppressing the continuum of hostility. Thus, in "Italy must remember its pluralist past," Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic studies at American University, Washington, D.C., highlights uncharacteristic episodes from Italy's past with Muslims in an attempt to convince Italians to be even more accepting of Muslim migrants. Before looking at his claims, some actual historical context concerning Italy and Islam – otherwise devoid in Akbar's article about the "past" – is needed. Once the jihad was unleashed from Arabia, not only was Italy bombarded and under threat for centuries, but as the seat of Rome – the capital of Western Christendom, which is to say Infideldom – several ambitious caliphs and sultans especially...(Read Full Article)