The attitude of the Christian West towards Muslims as forces of the devil has a long history. Starting at the end of the 11th century AD. from the Crusades, the purpose of which was to reconquer the Holy Land from the Muslims, it continued with the fall of the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church - Constantinople - under the onslaught of the Turks in the middle of the 15th century and resumed after the major defeat of the British and Australians in the battle with the Turks at Gallipoli (Dardanelles operation) in the First world war. Western media often portray Islamic religious figures as "mad mullahs" and portray Muslim leaders such as Colonel Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Ayatollah Khomeini and Yasser Arafat as Satan. Many Westerners consider all Muslims to be fanatical terrorists, and Islamic fundamentalists are immediately suspected of such senseless acts of violence as the bombing of a government building in Oklahoma City in 1995. In response to such disrespect for their leaders, religion and culture, many Muslims in turn view the West as the "land of Satan" that threatens their values and holy places. Such mutual paranoia and mistrust are a major obstacle to understanding and cooperation between non-Muslims and the Islamic world. Alexander Berzin, 1996 article edited January 2003 and December 2006 Original article: www.berzinarchives.com /web/x/nav/group.html_1232962266.html