Answer:
- They had been persecuted over an extended period of time.
Step-by-step explanation:
Johnny Ryan, the popular comic creator of America in his comparison of the aggressive Islamic groups to the militant Irish Republicans found out that 'both the groups experienced that they have been oppressed for an elongated period of time.' He realized that their rights are being suppressed for years behind the frame of their militant attitude and thus, he attempts to put this truth of their oppression for years forward through his comic strips. Thus, his comparison reveals that 'they have been maltreated for several years'.