[Buddha-l] Was Buddhists Taking a Stand Against Isllamophobia

[Gregory Bungo]

Hi Gerald,

>Gerald McLoughlin <caodemarte at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>Please note that Arab conquests were not wars of religion as such. The conquered were not even allowed to convert to what was then seen as the religion of the Arabs for a very long period of time. Finally the view that Islam was open to all carried the day, but forced conversions, if existent, would have been rare to the vanishing point. Of course,  Islamic states were historically far more tolerant of Christians and Jews than the Christian states, "pagans" being a different complex story.
>
>
 (snip)

What's your source for saying that the conquered weren't allowed to convert for a very
long period of time?  My understanding is that while Muhammad was still alive there
was a religious conquest of Mecca by Muhammad's followers from Medina.  Yarmuk followed
pretty soon after that.

I'm also skeptical about the rarity of forced conversions.  What's your source?

Thanks,

Greg Bungo