Islam is not bad, too many of you are ignorant of history.

[dib8rman]

@Op

There is a well written book about the demands and intricacies of being a Muslim by a former muslim now secularist Iban  Warraq, he is an Afghani that found his identity so to speak in higher education many years ago. The book he wrote "Why I am not a Muslim" I believe was published in 2008 or 2007? Either way in a oratory he describes Islam and Muslims, seeing as how he is of liberal mind and well schooled I'll hold agreement with him only for so far as getting the point across in addressing your the OP. Before reaching that point though it must be said that Iban separates Islam from Muslims where he says that a life time of the teachings of Islam and with the benefit of hindsight he is more than qualified to say that Islam is inherently evil if evil is to be defined as not welcomed in a civilized world by civilized post modern legislation and consequently post modern culture while Muslims are not instinctively evil. I however do not make that separation because of the pragmatism found when defining a whole people Christian or Muslim or Jewish; if everyone assumes one title because of their actions or faith then it must be said that their actions or faith are at the very least similar if not identical to earn their title with the only exception being postulation.

This is to say that a Christian who calls himself Christian but does not believe Jesus died for our sins or some or any of the other tenets of Christianity that require faith is not actually a Christian. And likewise for any other religion with divine injunctions.

But I  can't argue in support of Christianity which is what the OP asks of any responder, but I can say that highlighting the height of the Churches power and saying that we should look and see Muslims were not involved in that doesn't change the fact that Islam is used as a political engine in the rapid expansionism of Muslims across the world and Islam through imperialism.

It doesn't change the fact that despite having conquered nearly all the then civilized world inherently along with other relatable causes crippled once modern or  then advanced social structures leaving them in shambles like Bangladesh or Greece or the Philippines or Egypt.

It doesn't change the fact that it is because of the western Imperialism that Arabs were introduced to education, electricity, running water,  inoculation, democracy, roads, trains, cars, medicine and airplanes. It is because of the western world that the Arabs were freed from the Ottoman, folks today seem to forget that the Arabs were in rebellion against the Caliphate back then which had already collapsed on itself.

The so called golden age of Arabia is only due to the rapid conquering done of socially successful regions of the world, where the rich became richer (Arab conquerers) and due to Taqiyya science was allowed to grow until Jihad and the inevitable assertion of Islam, even then those achievements were not from the Arabs but from the peoples they conquered, such as inoculation which was a Chinese and Indian practice hundreds of years before Islam was even construed, the number 0, Greek Literature was obviously not Muslim and so on.

Before you give credit to Islam or the Quran and the advanced society of the Arabs ask yourself what society did the Arabs have? A quick answer would or should show that they in fact had nothing to contribute to the world they conquered and in fact owe the Indians, Greeks and Fallen Byzantium many thanks for the complex social and political structure they exercised long before Islam, as well as their wealth (stolen) and architecture.

People credit Islam for the end of the Dark Ages, I credit the Black Plague. I do however Credit both Islam and Christianity for a join effort to support a 700 year war.