[Frontpage Magazine via RaymondIbrahim.com]
U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s recent condemnation of medieval Christian history to exonerate modern Islam is a reminder of how woefully ignorant (or intentionally deceptive) a good many people in the West are concerning the true history of Christian Europe and Islam.
The problem is that those who condemn things like the Crusades—including “mainstream” academics, journalists, movie-makers, and politicians—do so without mention of historical context. Worse, they imply “we” already know the context: evil popes and greedy knights exploiting Christianity to seize Muslim lands and wealth. Or as Karen Armstrong put it, “the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the Crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam.”
The true story of Christendom and Islam is the antithesis of such claims. Consider some facts for a moment:
A mere decade after the birth of Islam in the 7th century, the jihad burst out of Arabia. Leaving aside all the thousands of miles of ancient lands and civilizations that were permanently conquered—including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and parts of India and China—much of Europe was also, at one time or another, conquered by the sword of Islam.
Among other nations and territories that were attacked and/or came under Muslim domination are (to give them their modern names in no particular order): Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania, Albania, Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Crete, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Belarus, Malta, Sardinia, Moldova, Slovakia, and Montenegro.
In 846 Rome was sacked and the Vatican defiled by Muslim Arab raiders; some 600 years later, in 1453, Christendom’s other great basilica, Holy Wisdom (or Hagia Sophia) was conquered by Muslim Turks, permanently. (Till this day, Turkish Muslims celebrate the sack of Constantinople, which saw much rapine and slaughter.)
The few European regions that escaped direct Islamic occupation due to their northwest remoteness include Great Britain, Scandinavia, and Germany. That, of course, does not mean that they were not attacked by Islam. Indeed, in the furthest northwest of Europe, in Iceland, Christians used to pray that God save them from the “terror of the Turk.” This was not mere paranoia; as late as 1627, Muslim corsairs raided the northern Christian island seizing four hundred captives and selling them in the slave markets of Algiers.
Nor did America escape… .. Keep reading
dlbrand says
Indeed, a time of wishful thinking, begging for the Moderates to give us reasonably believable untruths.
jihad3tracker says
Robert Spencer’s colleague and superb, courageous counter-jihad blogger Pam Geller has a post currently about the Dallas Morning News “take” on the AFDI upcoming “Draw Muhammad” event in Garland, Texas.
As usual, the writer avoids facing Islamic supremacism’s agenda of killing messengers, and instead does the typical patronizing privilege-guilt waltz about Muslims who get so offended / why are we inciting them . . . blah blah blah.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/garland-mesquite/headlines/20150216-anti-islam-group-books-program-at-garland-isd-center.ece
The author’s contact path is available where his name is listed. You might want to set him straight regarding the free speech issue, and a little thing called “Western liberty” — and why standing up for it is important.
Also, please scroll down to commenter Fred Bailey. He gives a link to CSPI director Dr. Bill Warner’s excellent video on THE REAL AGGRESSORS OF THE CRUSADES. I highly recommend watching it — and sending the URL on to family and friends who are still clueless on that long episode in history.
dlbrand says
Hey, j – track.
Thanks for the lead there, however, I have learned, minimally, nine times out of ten, when I prepare a fact based, “sacred texts” substantiated post for sites such as Dallas Morning, they are disallowed, or “editing” to state that which I would never say.
Therefore, in short, a waste of precious time and effort.
But thanks for the link, all the same.
M S case says
We n America and all throughout the western world must start teaching our youngsters about what islam really is and show them that the present muslim countries were actually Christian until the muslim hoard began killing and forcing Christians to convert of leave their home countries Mothers and Fathers teach your children about this. I would be willing to say that most American children in and all over the west no little about early Christianity and the muslim threat.. News media needs to uplift the same thing but I doubt that any of this will ever happen. We have strayed too far from what our forefathers left us. Christianity was the flag bearer of our founders and they expected it t remain that way. Is there any leaders anywhere in the Christian world, including religious leaders, who are really standing up to what is happening to Christendom???
I know I will no longer be living when, and IF islam takes over the world but I will see a lot of atrocities done by the muslims before that time comes. I would like be a “fly on the wall” when and IF it does come just to see how those who have stated that “islam is a religion of peace’ stands up to what they will have to face. May God have mercy on their soul but I’m afraid He won’t.
Jay Boo says
Egyptian Poet Fatima Naoot:
Egypt Was Conquered by the Arabs, Coptic Language Changed By Force
MR.RANDY DOUGLAS MILLER says
YOU ARE BEING REDIRECTED-UNABLE TO SHARE ON FACEBOOK
Don McKellar says
I linked it on Facebook and all what comes up is YOU ARE BEING REDIRECTED and then jihadwatch underneath it. It is a link, so you can share it on Facebook, but if you want to share it so that people can read the headline, I guess you have to cut and paste it. Is this on purpose?
Dr Nath says
It was quite a brilliant refutation by President Obama against those who thought him to be a Muslim as he provided glimpses into and citations with the several references to his joining to fellow Christians to pray for the release of the detained. The President is not aware of one central preoccupation of the Islamic faith- a violent refutation that the head of the Church is the Son of God, Period. All their deeds and utterances by terrorism and slaughtering are intended to force this position into the throat of humanity. Who is the architect of the disapproval of the son ship of Christ? Who else other than Lucifer and his angels of course. In which theatre is the battle field? The world of course? The President did not understand ecclesiastical issues perhaps because he was not predisposed as opposed to his assured exposure to brilliant legal studies academic accomplishments or other disciplines. The preoccupation of the Islamic theology is to denigrate claims of Christ and announcements of the God of the Jews which became transposed to God of the Christian whose head is Christ. It becomes incumbent on Islam therefore to consider any approval to the Messiahship of Christ which was believed by the Christians and Jews as an affront because the Islamic God and Messenger are superior to the God of the Jews and Christian. It was the same contention in heaven even before man was created, the President should be made aware, that featured with a consequence of war resulting in Lucifer and his angel –a one third of angelic beings being cast out as reported in the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel the judicious Prophets to whom the mind of God was revealed.
It becomes paramount that an ultimate course of action has to be instituted from the conception of Islam to instigate obedience to strict laws to enforce disapproval of the sonship of God ascription to Christ such as;-
This core ! the very fundamental to ISIS/L Boko Haram, and other arms of Islamic fundamentals across the world in their resolve to force down the throat of humanity who they consider infidel, unbelievers and lukewarm Moslem who become so by sheer reason of lack of awareness of what are contained in their holy book.
The president ought to be concerned with how to bring about legislations at home to serve as springboard in providing measure in other free countries and the United National Organization, UNO to contain beheading one for his belief. The President should leave praying for the release to the detained victims to the hands of practicing too many ordained clergies across the world most of whose prayers are pleasant to the Almighty. The World needs leadership to contain the arbitrariness of group of people for whatever reasons in wasting lives the very centre of human activities including joining in scientific inventions and research including space exploration. How would the President be praying alone without undertaking very urgently concrete actions to forestall parallel governments in Iraqi and Syria in whatever guises with sordid determination to attract other legitimate countries territories to their Islamic enclave. Surely, it is synonymous with colonization ambition of yester years by foreign fighters. In twenty first century the hegemony of Islam is forcefully established in peacefully existing countries and in the process beheading , intimidating citizens in order to institutionalize polarized the hegemony with no option of descent which of course would be punishable by instant death. American democracy was founded on freedom after the defeat of colonialism. America became in consequence predisposed to attack and defeat territorial grabbing for religious and political reasons across the world but subtly defeated by Islam who hypocritically preached peace without disclosing the fundamental motive its attempt to denigrate the reconciliation of man with true God by the Head of Church’s death on the cross and resurrection which feat the Moslems denied. The President needs to have the knowledge of these realities as the spiritual motivating factor of the evil that just last Sunday beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians, burnt alive a Jordan Pilot and other long list of absurdities to terrorize humanity the very centre of development. It is very sad to see American President appearing by implication to exonerating the totality of what the religion stand for. Worthy of note is that religion is man’s attempt to reach God. But Christianity is God electing to reach man because sinful man is totally incapable of reaching righteous God from his Adamic sin
It was not accidental that the same question that featured at Christ Temptation soon after his Baptism; “If you are the son of God” in a couple of times later became instrumental for inspiring why he was crucified using the agency of man without knowing that it was a redemption plan. A direct consequence of the defeat became instrumental too to founding a religion that will place Ishmael in the position of Isaac and establishing a counter religion that will espouse the denial of any claim by anyone to being the son of True God for which reason today many atrocities are being committed to buttress this denial and enforce conversion by force of arm and not by submission of souls and spirit. The leadership of America in world affairs is not by mistake. But it will be a unpardonable mistake to allow evil indoctrination to continue to shadow the spiritual power that developed America , Canada and the Western world and institutionalized Christian government run authorities well equipped to wage war against evil including those emanating as a peaceful religion but surreptitiously intended to destroy the benefit of Christianity upon mankind before the rapture. Christians are empowered to occupy including repulsing Islam with all arms at our disposal until He come, the President of USA should be aware
Jay Boo says
Many false prophets will come claiming to offer the world — “religion”
Muhammad selfishly offered the world his slave trade ‘religion’ and vanity displays.
Of course Christians on the other hand believe that Jesus Christ offers more than a mere religion.
Tasha Cobbs – Break Every Chain (Lyrics)
Charli Main says
Christians and other non Muslims have the inalienable right to take back all the lands that they were driven out of, by the Muslim invaders from Mecca
and we will—-even the insane psychopath, Mohammed of Mecca, stated that Muslims would be driven back to Mecca, like snakes into their holes.
mach37 says
Reference, please. I like the idea of driving Muslims back to Mecca.
MKG says
History is just that, history. We all know history repeates itself, and so it is wise to take note.
Despite the actions committed by those in the past, we must face the dangers of today. If Chritianity is to survive, men and women must be willing and have the strength to stand and fight this threat of annihilation. One could consider the act of kneeling to the headsman without a fight to be nothing more than suicide. Suicide is offensive to God.
“Thou shalt not commit murder.”
One should not take dilight in killing, or kill to satisfy some dark desire. It is with a heavy heart that Christians kill their enemies. And so, Christians would not be committing murder by fighting ISIS, by fighing those who take delight in murder.
Don McKellar says
“…a reminder of how woefully ignorant (or intentionally deceptive)…”
At this point, we must assume intentionally deceptive. Back during the days of 9/11 we could assume ignorance, but that is certainly not the case now that we have ISIS. Very few people could be that ignorant now.
Angemon says
Yup, even considering we’re talking about “scholars” and politicians.
peter weber says
“Christian crusades”
Again I read about the “Christian crusades”. Contrary to popular belief, not “Christians” carried out the crusades, but Roman Catholics on behalf of the Papacy (the Pope). The Roman Catholic church has nothing to do with Christianity. Practically all precepts of the Roman Catholic religion contradict the Bible repeatedly. Roman Catholicism has a history of brutality, deception, and greed through such things as the Inquisition.
Islamists have “nothing to do” with Islam. That’s accepted. Christians have nothing to do with the Roman Catholic church. That’s why Christians have nothing to do with the crusades.
The first Christians were not Catholics at all (Acts 11:26). In the beginning there was no unity in Christianity. The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church were the result of the Great Schism of 1054, when the bishop of Rome became the first Catholic Christian pope, and the remaining four bishops (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem) continued as authorities in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church.
Catholics hijacked Christianity and paganised it. Rome’s doctrines are heresies, lies, blasphemies, and fables. Purgatory, nuns, popes. None of these is mentioned in the Bible. Jesus never commanded anyone to join a church. By the way: God has nothing to do with the Catholic church or any man made religion. The truth is in what Jesus taught, and all these denominations are far away from God.
Jay Boo says
Troll alert
Way too obvious peter the divide and conquer deceiver
deja vu says
“Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam. This capital of theirs will be an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe.” − Yunis Al-Astal, Hamas MP and cleric
Peter Webber is relating church history which is verifiable. He is more outspoken than I would be, but Jesus intended His ekklesia to be a living organism with Himself (the Rock) as our Great High Priest in the order of Melchizidek (read Hebrews). Once the ‘church’ became institutionalised, politicised and hierarchical, it drew away from the Biblical teaching of the priesthood of all believers with Christ on the throne as Head of the church. There is no Biblical mandate for an earthly Vicarius Christos, or priests able to forgive sins. Only Christ the Son of God, who was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead, has the sovereign right to do so. If you get this wrong, error compounds error until we get to the denial of Sola Scriptura, giving equal weight to the Magisterium and the writings of the Church Fathers.
That is not to say that the Crusades were not justified – of course they were – but to set the Biblical record straight. I believe that God, who transcends all created beings, is allowing this new invasion of Western Christendom to fulfill His purposes. It is primarily a *spiritual* battle for the hearts and minds of human beings before the second coming of Jesus. The battle is His and it is already won. But it isn’t over yet.
mortimer says
The crusades were the response to the relentless jihad against the Mediterranean islands, Byzantium and the European coast.
Charli Main says
Not much has changed in the last 1400 years then. The Muslim invaders are still landing en masse in these areas—-only now they are calling themselves ” refugees” and ” asylum seekers”.
deja vu says
‘One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.’
Houari Boumedienne, President of Algeria, 1965 – 1978, in a 1974 speech at the UN
Liam1304 says
“Among other nations and territories that were attacked”.
Perhaps we could also add in Ireland, Norway and Iceland as these countries sufferred significant slave raids by Muslims.
Paul Rinderle says
There is strong evidence from a historian Tom Holland on the UK that no history exist as the Muslim lore has it 1st 200 years if not longer that Muhammad and Islam even existed.
If we are going to hammer Islam lets hit them with earth shaking facts other than He said/She said. Islam is inherent lies. That the lied of their beginnings should be no surprise.
When I[Tom Holland] Questioned the History of Muhammad
British scholar Tom Holland found himself in a firestorm—and under threat—when he raised doubts about the traditional account of the origins of Islam.
Might the Arab conquerors not actually have been Muslim at all? Did the Quran, the supposed corpus of Muhammad’s revelations, in fact derive from a whole multiplicity of pre-existing sources? Was it possible that Muhammad himself, rather than coming from Mecca, had lived far to the north, in the deserts beyond Roman Palestine? The answer to all these questions, I gradually came to conclude, was yes.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/when-i-questioned-the-history-of-muhammad-1420821462?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird
“Islam: The Untold Story,”
http://vridar.org/2013/03/10/islam-the-untold-story/
Robert Spencer says
Paul
You may be interested to know that I wrote a book about this myself, before Holland did:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/161017061X/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_lc?amp;camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=161017061X