The news is full of ISIS and extremism but how many looked at the history of the prophet Muhammed and his contributions to the world?

1SG Dave Arpin — Tue, 12 May 2015 10:15:54 -0400

Response by 1SG Dave Arpin made May 12 at 2015 10:19 AM

1SG Dave Arpin — Tue, 12 May 2015 10:19:14 -0400

I'm looking for a discussion from those who have studied world history and it is my understanding that Muhammed and his crusade covered most of Europe and the Middle East including all of Spain and Portugal and outlasted the later Christian Crusades by hundreds of years.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 12 at 2015 10:26 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 12 May 2015 10:26:50 -0400

After he was dead, Muhammad's followers attempted to make inroads into Europe. They got into Spain where they were entrenched for some tie after successful conquests.
In the early 700s, Iberia was controlled by a Visigothic king, Roderic. Muslim historians, such as Ibn Khaldun, tell the legend of an Iberian nobleman based in North Africa, Julian, who went to one of the Muslim military leaders in North Africa, Tariq ibn Ziyad, and asked for help overthrowing Roderic.
Thus, in 711, Tariq led an army of a few thousand to the southern shore of the Iberian Peninsula. After a few minor skirmishes, he met the bulk of Roderic’s army at the Battle of Guadalete on July 19, 711. The result was a decisive victory for Tariq, and the death of Roderic. With the Visigothic threat gone, the Muslim armies were able to conquer the rest of the peninsula within the next 7 years.
Within 200-300 years of the initial invasion, over 80% of Spain’s population was Muslim, numbering over 5 million people, most of them people originally from Spain whose ancestors had converted, not immigrants.
[This information was condensed from a Unitarian site - I edited out information that did not seem germane to the question]
http://lostislamichistory.com/christianity-and-the-muslim-conquest-of-spain/
After securing much of the Iberian Peninsula, the Muslims attempted to expand their conquests further north into France and were defeated by the army of Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732.

Christianity and the Muslim Conquest of Spain

Few wars in Islamic history have been as decisive or as influential as the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 710s. A small Muslim army arrived on the southern shores of Iberia in the ...

Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 12 at 2015 10:50 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 12 May 2015 10:50:51 -0400

The Ottoman Turkish Empire extended into south eastern Europe and Islam still has a strong presence in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo which dates back to the Crusades. This is one European area that could be said to have maintained a Muslim influence long after the Crusades.
Islam under the Ottomans attempted to push into Austria which repelled the military efforts. However, similar to Muslim efforts of the recent past, Muslims made significant inroads into the Austrian culture.
"Islam in Austria has a long history, dating back to 1525 when the Ottoman sultans tried to invade the Austrian empire. Although these attempts failed, Islam influenced Austrian culture significantly, and numerous Austrians converted to Islam"
http://www.euro-islam.info/country-profiles/austria/

Islam in Austria - Euro-Islam: News and Analysis on Islam in Europe and North America

Islam is the largest religious minority in Austria with 4.22 %of the population in the 2001 census;1 after the Catholics (73.6%), irreligious (12%), and Protestants (4.7%).2 There are approximately 338,988 Muslims in Austria, that has a resident population of 8,032,926 persons.