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In reply to the discussion: Terror attack kills scores in Nice, France, Hollande says [View all]Igel
(35,300 posts)Until then baptism or exile were the two choices, but nobody much enforced it.
The problem wasn't the (secular) government; it was the Church. The *government* tried to accommodate Muslims; the Church authorities often in charge of implementing the provisions wanted forced conversions and to protect their own faith. Of course, that's a thin reed to rely on since the State wasn't all that separate from the Church.
Of course, more than a little of this could be rooted in "historical justice," since what the Catholic Church wanted was essentially what the Muslim authorities had decreed. No proselytization, keep your "bad" religion underground, our way or the highway. They wanted forced coversions, and often for the sake of survival in "Andalusia" you converted and kept your conversion secret upon pain of death or you suffered incredible oppression for generations. Revenge and avenging humiliation are bad things, but we still see that kind of atavistic thinking today.