The rise of Islam opened a new avenue for religious fanaticism. This burgeoning faith was as certain in its conviction of truth as Christianity. Like the monotheistic creeds before it, Islam's holy text, the Quran, is filled with exhortations of vengeance and slaughter of those who don't share its beliefs. “Slay them,” it demands, “wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter.” The promise of an eternal soul living an afterlife in heaven is frequently used to encourage holy war.
And then the rise of islam
