Quote:as no currently existing states are in the process of building an expansionist empire
Short of stating it, the USA is doing a pretty good job of achieving it. They've got almost their entirely military tied up in dominating the Islamic lands and acquiring all their natural resources, some of the richest in the world.
I don't think anyone is naive enough to believe that neo-colonialism needs to be about actually building an empire that actually physically rules the nations it dominates. It's more about economic control today as the force that binds an empire together. Except in the case of the Muslim states, where the USA sometimes has to make extra effort to dominate them.
Quote:If a caliphate differs from other nations so much, why would you expect it to adopt similar standards?
Things like conditions for declaring war, and even conduct during war are matters that are agreed upon by states. They decide how they'll conduct themselves, and agree amongst themselves what norms and rules they should enact. The Caliphate would be no different, it would be a global player and would be involved in making such rules. Just because it was an expansionist state in the time when that was the norm, doesn't mean it would be in all times.
Quote:Also, I don't think you touched on the conditions for stealing all the property in a defeated nation
That's because we don't believe in stealing. This is just your ridiculous slander.
Quote:or enslaving it's citizens
Again nonsense. Show me where this ever happened in the history of Islamic conquests.
Quote:or raping all the women
Again nonsense. Show me where this ever happened in the history of Islamic conquests.
Quote:but could you please at least answer the questions about what Islam would permit before going off on a tangent about Israel?
The only tangent I'm going to go off on now is the one that will bring this discussino full circle and back to where it should rightly be directed.
You constantly accuse Islam of being expanionist.
You constantly accuse Islam of being violent.
You constantly accuse Islam of having an agenda to dominate others.
You constantly accuse Islam of coveting and seeking to 'acquire' the [national?] belongings of others.
Yet none of these things actuallly apply to Islam right now, and some of them, it's debatable if they ever applied at any time.
Yet every single one of them applies to the USA and her allies, in their actions towards the Muslims, rigght now, today, in front of our very eyes, as we debate this.
The USA, has expanded into the Muslim lands, and currently rules two our countries, not to mention wielding excessive influence over many others, specifically those who have abundant natural energy resources.
The USA has committed extreme acts of violence and tyranny against civilian Muslim populations, some of it state-sanctioned, some of it by rogues, but all still the fault of the USA.
The USA quite obviously has an agenda in dominating the Islamic lands, and has used every means possible, bypassing it's own international laws, risking it's own international reputation, losing even the support of it's own people, just to ensure it's dominance of the region.
The USA is quite clearly there for the energy resources, which are becomming increasingly scarce. As Lawrence Corb said when the USA made their first incursion into the Middle East "If Kuwait grew carrots, we wouldn't give a damn". And for a very long time after seizing the oil fields of Iraq, the oil was being pumped out without a functioning gauge.... The Baghdad museum was completely ransacked during and after the war, hundreds of thousands of ancient artifacts from the civilisations that littered the 'cradle of civilisation' that Iraq once was are all gone, no doubt into the collections of private owners in the USA and Europe.
Freediver, you've really got some hide asking all these questions about the intentions and supposedly plans of Islam, when it's quite clear the ideology that you support is doing far worse, right here and right now to the Muslims. You're nothing but a hypocrite who really has to look into the mirror, and really shouldn't be throwing stones at the Muslims, lest your own glass house is shattered.