The idea I was getting after is that the email is a hoax started by a corrupt RW evangelical outfit. The third link discusses the corruption of Victory Outreach, which is the source of the letter.
I guess I went more towards debunking the source, not the actual email.
As far as the email is concerned, anyone who has even a small grasp of history will remember the Crusades (a violent struggle in the name of Christ), which has not been mischaracterized. The Crusades were a series of military conflicts of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal threats. Crusades were fought against Muslims, pagan Slavs, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, and political enemies of the popes.
Crusaders took vows and were granted an indulgence for past sins. So, Catholics were not just fighting Muslims, but many other ethnicities and religions.
Now, I'm not Muslim, but I have done some studying. I think your best bet would be to talk about the five pillars of Islam:
Shahada (declaration of faith)
Salat (ritual prayer five times each day)
Zakat (Islamic tax or tithing)
Sawm (fasting during Ramadan)
Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during life).
Obviously, jihad is not in the five pillars of Islam. But, here is some information about jihad: According to scholar John Esposito, Jihad requires Muslims to "struggle in the way of God" or "to struggle to improve one's self and/or society." Jihad is directed against the devil's inducements, aspects of one's own self, or against a visible enemy. The four major categories of jihad that are recognized are Jihad against one's own self (Jihad al-Nafs), Jihad of the tongue (Jihad al-lisan), Jihad of the hand (Jihad al-yad), and Jihad of the sword (Jihad as-sayf). Islamic jurisprudence focuses on regulating the conditions and practice of Jihad as-sayf, the only form of warfare permissible under Islamic law, and thus the term Jihad is usually used in fiqh manuals in reference to military combat.
A minority among the Sunni scholars sometimes refer to this Islamic duty as the sixth pillar of Islam, though it occupies no such official status.And, Islam promotes religious tolerance. Here is a quote from the Quran: "Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians...and (all) who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." The Qur'an, 2:62
To talk about Sharia law as if it is the most evil thing ever ignores the fact that for much of Christian history, Christians have lived under the strict rules of the bible, and many of our laws are drawn from Christian teaching. In every faith, there are moderates and conservatives. Not every Muslim state operates under Sharia law.
Whoever wrote this email is obviously extremely biased against Islam. Whatever happened to the religious tolerance that our Constitution protects? And, really, if we are going to say that Christians have only done good, how can Bush be a Christian? He's started wars on false principles, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands, he has oppressed his people and subverted the rule of law, he is a drunk and a drug addict, and he shows no remorse for his behavior. Very un-Christian. If you ask me, Bush is one of the people who has taken a vow and asked to be granted indulgences for his sins.
If anyone needs practice being tolerant, send them to this site:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm