A look at the circumstances that gave rise to Vlad the Impaler and Ivan the Terrible.
Citing history—or, as shall be seen, pseudohistory—is one of the main ways Islam’s apologists try to ennoble Muhammad’s creed and its adherents. As a sort of counterbalance to purportedly noble Muslims, medieval Christians are regularly presented as the epitome of intolerance and violence. Commonly leading the pack are Vlad the Impaler and Ivan “the Terrible” (both featured in the 2002 book, The Most Evil Men and Women in History).
In reality, however, these men—and the culture they lived in—were significantly influenced by Islam; they were surrounded by and fought against Muslims their entire lives.
