> Max, try to step out of your American shoes for one moment and try to
> see the situation from the POV of a foreigner -- especially a Muslim
> foreigner.
In the mid 19th century, Mexico was repeatedly invaded by European powers (and the U.S.) You know the story. Anyway, one of those military interventions was conducted by the French, who brought with them an Austrian emperor to rule over this unruly country: Maximilian I of Habsburg. Most historians believe this guy was nice -- a sincere liberal with very good intentions. Yet it was in opposition to those bloody foreign interventions (some of them involving people with apparent good intentions), that Mexicans reinforced the sense of themselves as a nation. In June 1867, an Indian president, Benito Juárez (the Evo Morales of 19th century Mexico) got him executed by a firing squad. His wife Charlotte was shipped back to Europe, completely out of her mind.
Julio