As much as I found this funny and insightful, I think that you misrepresent the crusades (and perhaps, by extension, Rust). In my partially-informed opinion, conversion wasn't a major goal, even though people in conquered lands were given the option to convert and integrate. It was more important to claim "holy" land for Christians and make a show of owning and controlling the significant territory.
Whether or not Rustaceans want to banish C people to the desert to write printer drivers or to commit apostasy and assimilate I am not qualified to say.
>I think it parallels the Christian Crusades where crusaders believed they had a moral duty to reclaim the holy land and convert people to Christianity, causing enormous damage in the process
Perhaps those crusaders have also witnessed several centuries of islamic invasions of said lands, and countries all around the general area, and the takeover by force of the local populations...
Much like priests hidden away in their sacristies, the Rust™ community meets my criticisms with the silence of a prayerful vigil, retreating to the cowardly sanctuary of downvotes instead of engaging in the enlightening pursuit of reasoned dialogue. [1][2][3][4]
1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35060939
2: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34925457
3: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31779218
4: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31097928