Aksariya Mosque bombing pushes Iraq toward civil war

[Preechr]

Check the timeline... Islam was in direct competition with Christianity prior to Krakatoa, but it's popularity rose dramatically afterward to the point that it's the region of the world boasting the largest Muslim population.

[ItalianStereotype]

what? are you talking about the krakatoan eruption in the 1880s? you realize that Islam has been in Indonesia since before the 13th century, right?

[Preechr]

It's a very interesting story... The natives had this big mythology based on volcano gods, and the charismatic Imam responsible for that region, though no longer living there, spread the story that the eruption keyed into ancient prophecies that could be interpreted as a sudden need to expel the foreign overlords. Jihad ensued, predictably.

[ItalianStereotype]

just making sure you weren't saying that Islam wasn't present in Indonesia before Krakatoa.

[Preechr]

No no... It was. You are right.

The Dutch abandonment of their colonies there marked the point at which Islam really began to take hold and become a prevalent force. That's the single event that led up to where they are today over there. The West abandoned it's ambitions in Asia and Islam moved in to console the natives through conversion to a mass concept of transferrence.