Archive for the ‘Islamic Fanatacism’ Category

Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams on Islam

Monday, March 3rd, 2008

My cousin wanted me to post this for him.

“John Quincy Adams, founding father, sixth president of the United States, looks over your shoulder at the morning newspaper and contrasts the two opposing spiritual forces between which war must rage for yet another generation. While his language may offend today’s postmodern sensibilities, it is the vernacular of the men who loved Christ and cherished freedom—the mighty men who secured our liberty.”

Adams on Jesus Christ and Christianity, Relative to Muhammad and Islam“And he [Jesus] declared, that the enjoyment of felicity in the world hereafter, would be reward of the practice of benevolence here. His whole law was resolvable into the precept of love; peace on earth – good will toward man, was the early object of his mission; and the authoritative demonstration of the immortality of man, was that, which constituted the more than earthly tribute of glory to God in the highest… The first conquest of the religion of Jesus, was over the unsocial passions of his disciples. It elevated the standard of the human character in the scale of existence…On the Christian system of morals, man is an immortal spirit, confined for a short space of time, in an earthly tabernacle. Kindness to his fellow mortals embraces the whole compass of his duties upon earth, and the whole promise of happiness to his spirit hereafter. THE ESSENCE OF THIS DOCTRINE IS, TO EXALT THE SPIRITUAL OVER THE BRUTAL PART OF HIS NATURE.” (Adam’s capital letters)….[pp. 267-268]

“In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar [i.e., Muhammad], the Egyptian, combining the powers of transcendent genius, with the preternatural energy of a fanatic, and the fraudulent spirit of an impostor, proclaimed himself as a messenger from Heaven, and spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth. Adopting from the sublime conception of the Mosaic law, the doctrine of one omnipotent God; he connected indissolubly with it, the audacious falsehood, that he was himself his prophet and apostle. Adopting from the new Revelation of Jesus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the sexual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. THE ESSENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST: TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE (Adam’s capital letters)….Between these two religions, thus contrasted in their characters, a war of twelve hundred years has already raged. The war is yet flagrant…While the merciless and dissolute dogmas of the false prophet shall furnish motives to human action, there can never be peace upon earth, and good will towards men.” [p. 269]

And From AMERICAN SPHINX The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis,

“Several muslim countries along the North African coast had established the tradition of plundering the ships of European and American merchants in the western Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, capturing the crews and then demanding ransom from the respective governments for their release. In a joint message to their superiors in Congress, Adams and Jefferson described the audacity of these terrorist attacks, pirates leaping onto defenseless ships with daggers clenched in their teeth.

They had asked the ambassador from Tripoli, Adams and Jefferson explained, on what grounds these outrageous acts of unbridled savagery could be justified: “The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the laws of the prophet, that it was written in their koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their [islams] authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners….”

This event occured between 1784-1789 while Jefferson was ambassador to France and Adams (2nd president) was ambassador to England.When Jefferson became President he proceeded to send the US Navy to Tripoli defeating the terrists and saving Americans who were taken into slavery under the able leadership of Commodore Stephen Decatur whose name I use with pride.This was our secound undeclared war I believe.

Abram (Abraham) Hagar and Ishmael

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar;

so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.

He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

“Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.

And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”

The angel added, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”

The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.

He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” (the birth of Islam)

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Pure Evil

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

I was initially discouraged when I heard of the recent twin suicide bombings in Baghdad that comprised the deadliest day of terror in the capital city since the beginning of the Surge.  My first concern was that the gains of the last year might be reversing.  My next concern was that these two incidents would be used by the anti-war factions to revive demands for immediate pull-out of our troops from Iraq.

But this morning I heard more details about this attack.  According to an AP Report, the two “suicide bombers” were not fanatical Muslim men volunteering to give their lives in exchange for a special place in paridise, but two Down Syndrome women whose bombs were detonated by remote-control!  According to the AP report:

“Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said about 70 people were killed in both attacks [the number is now up to about 100], which he said were committed by terrorists motivated by revenge and ‘to show that they are still able to stop the march of history and of our people toward reconciliation.’”

What kind of subhuman monsters would perpetrate such evil acts using two innocent, unsuspecting, mentally disabled women?  The cowardice of such an act is only exceeded by its pure unadulterated evil.  And for those who would use these dispicable acts as a pretext to bring our troops home before the job is done, I have two questions:

  • Do you think that this kind of evil will end if we pull out?  (Bear in mind that these bombings weren’t against our troops, but rather against Iraqis.)
  • Do you think that by walking away from this kind of evil, we Americans will somehow be immune from a similar fate, either at home or when we’re abroad?

The Surge has been so successful that only the most cowardly of acts can put a dent in it.  Rather than lose our resolve, these twin acts of desperation should remind us that we owe the Iraqis, the civilized world, and ultimately ourselves a final, decisive victory in Iraq so that this blight on humanity might be stopped once and for all.

Saddam cried like a baby

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

It’s funny how the lib controlled press carefully picks and chooses what is told to the American public.  While we (the powers that be, who ever they are) ponder what to do about Iran, little is said about the fact that Saddam pondered the same.

It would now seem that the war in Iraq happened simply because Saddam feared Iran.   

I continue to believe the war in Iraq a mistake. George Piro, simply confirms my thoughts. Had the war been against Islam I would be all for it. What we we do in Iraq is stupid and pointless and a waste of American lives and wealth. A liberal, feminized war sure to end in failure.

Today Gillian Gibbons’ returned to Britain. She was foolish enough to believe to believe that Western Culture could be taught in a Islamic culture in Sudan. She is a A British teacher that had been jailed for insulting Islam. How did she insult Islam? She allowed her her students to vote to name a teddy bear Muhammad, after a popular boy in the class, as an exercise in democracy.  

Hundreds protested in the streets of Sudan demanding her death. Her response after serving a 15  day prison sentence and expultion back to Britain—”I have a great respect for the Islamic religion.”

Gibbons as with Bush, and the rest of the Western world are fools. Incapable, because of multicult/lib  brainwashing, of seeing the real enemy.

Eyes wide open, street wise, the real deal. Words/actions we don’t see in our current leadership, nor in the general population of the US or Europe. Few realize how precarious the survival of the great achievements of the Greeks has become. Bush and Gibbons think that a simple vote can change a culture incapable of democracy.  They are wrong. They will fail. Only brute force and destruction of that culture, (Islam) will bring to these people what the Greeks developed over 2500 years ago.

Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

On September 28, Mike Huckabee gave a major foreign policy speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC.  I’m a big fan of the governor, particularly on domestic issues, but I’ve been a little apprehensive about his foreign policy credentials.  This speech laid those apprehensions to rest.  Thirty-second sound bites in debates can’t do credit to a something as complex as a candidate’s vision for America’s role in the world.  This speech does, and is worth a listen (or a read).

Here’s a link to the audio of the speech (the video is way too dark and not worth watching, IMHO):

http://www.csis.org/media/csis/events/070928_huckabee.m3u

It’s lengthy (about an hour and 13 minutes),  but you can skip over the introductions and preliminaries; the body of the speech starts at about 5 minutes and 30 seconds).

If you’d prefer reading his prepared remarks, they’re available here:

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=505

Bush Iraq and the war on terror

Thursday, January 11th, 2007

This is not Vietnam.

This is NOT Vietnam.

This is not political.

This is scary…

9-11 saw a blatant, long-planned, well-funded, coordinated, multiple
attack against Americans on American soil, murdering some 3,000
Americans right in the middle of New York City; the Pentagon in
Virginia; another was evidently targeted against our capital in
Washington, DC (flight 93).

3,000 civilians killed in about two hours’ time. Pearl Harbor saw
about 3,000 soldiers and sailors killed in about that same time frame.
Yes: look it up. Many other murders have been carried out
specifically against American civilians in foreign locales as well,
and by the same players.

19 people, part of a group of fanatical religious conquerors, came to
America, into our home – to murder Americans in reprisal for our
interference in their attempt at world domination and for not being
part of their religion. Killing Americans in America. Hunting
people. With bombs. Our own fanatics don’t even let people do that
to deer. 3,000 American people – men, women, and children: murdered.
Us. Here. No, this is not Vietnam at all.

What happened in New York was not a military action against a military
target – they specifically targeted American civilians and killed them
in cold blood. That’s their style. Many hundreds of American soldiers
have also been murdered in American bases in foreign countries – all
before 9-11. I call it murder because that’s what you call killing sleeping soldiers in an undeclared war. They also kill and brutalize their own countrymen (and, most especially, women and children) on an hourly basis. It’s bad. Really bad.

They have openly sworn to do it again and again until they get their
way. Unfortunately, their ultimate “way” is to kill civilians. They
will do it right here if they can.

Don’t forget that – it’s important.

If this attack had come from a real, geographically based, traditional
country, it would have resulted in an immediate declaration of
full-scale war… invasion, draft & everything.
As it was, this came from today’s most nefarious entity – terrorists -
funded by billions of dollars – privately and via secret
state-supported funds… ironically from countries who have literally
become insanely rich from the money we pour into oil purchases (read
Saudi Arabia, home of Osama Bin Laden, et al). They operate
independently of legitimate governments and often work to replace them
with their religious rule. They have very few declared geo-political
bases of operation and have learned to hide the identity and location
of their officers and supporters very carefully. Much like other
criminals who hide after committing crimes (yes, people who murder
and enslave people are criminals). They are well organized. They
target Americans. Organized criminals openly attacking American
cities. We have to stop that. In order to stop them, we have to find
them. They openly operate out of Afghanistan, they train in
Afghanistan; for a while, they owned Afghanistan – there is no doubt
about that. (I don’t really know about Iraq. I don’t think most
anyone else does either – it’s the nature of the beast.) They throw
bombs into crowds. They are cowards, stabbing from the shadows and
hiding.

In the world these people want to create, all people of other faiths would be automatically destined for death or slavery, as would his family and anyone who associated with him or
defended, harbored, or fed him.

All other religions, it’s followers and adherents put to death, maybe by public
torture – making a fitting example of how heretics and infidels are
dealt with. Slavery would be the only other choice.
Our government could handle this problem (a LOT) better, if the liberal groveler’s
would shut up or put up (a better idea). I absolutely loathe the unspeakable horror or war, but we had to take some action, fast and hard, to prevent future attacks.
The liberal way of talking and acting at arm’s length had been tried for decades and it
obviously didn’t work – the proof is in the people-pudding in the basement of the World Trade Center. So “the war” has at least has succeeded in this one aspect – there have been no more attacks on American soil. Yet.

Do I hear an “I oppose that” from anyone?

It’s obvious even to a political neophyte like me that Islam
is the type that engage in naked aggression and will not stop their
attempts to literally rule the world unless they are forced to. They
tell us that themselves, openly.

It is their religious and political duty, their reason for being – the reason they exist – it’s what they do. They take over countries and subjugate populations.

Remember that the terrorists’ premise for all this is that they worship “the
only true God”, and that “God” commands them to convert or kill every
infidel in the world, no matter who, no matter where. That’s not just
talk – they’re working hard to accomplish that goal. Give them their
way and the burning times of the inquisition will look like a Saturday morning cartoon,
Hitler’s Final Solution will look like a hobby, and the purges of
Stalin and Pol Pot will look like a “B” movie. These people see
anyone who doesn’t follow their strict ways, strictly, as an undeniable butcher’s history.
We’re talking rabid dog – We’re talking global genocide. We are a
target of that genocide. That’s not my opinion – that’s what they
themselves tell us their “God” has told them to do.

I believe it’s dangerous and foolish to begin to lump a whole culture into a derogatory commonality (“Ragheads”) , but let’s face it – it’s an established fact that these
people are exclusively Islamic. No member of their “inner circle” is otherwise…
you are born Islamic and are a devout Islamic-fanatic or you are simply not included. You are, by definition, an infidel. Fanatics are like that. They brainwash and train poor, ignorant children (their own) to build and carry bombs (a particularly brutal and cowardly device) into civilian targets and blow up civilians along with themselves; all in
the name of “God”, in order to get into “Heaven”. At least Hitler and
Stalin and Pol Pot openly said “do it or we’ll kill you”. This is evil on so many levels.
As they dominate an area, they proceed to kill anyone they think
opposes their point of view in the slightest way, stop actual
education in favor of religious indoctrination, generally -terrorize-
the remaining population (thus the name), treat women like property -
depriving them of any human rights whatsoever (read up on the
Pakistani rape laws, for a mild example), and use that area and its
people as a base of operations for their next aggression. Very much
like the Hitlers and Stalins and Pol Pots we have already seen, but
with much better propaganda and an unmatched zeal that can come only
from a religious foundation. Add to that a no return address and you’ve
got a truly potent package. When they don’t dominate an area, they
sow the seeds of disruption, plant bombs, kidnap and murder those who
oppose their insurgence.

This is an import; to destabilize the government and population in the area and weaken it’s resistance to takeover. Surviving populations do not thrive under their rule. We
are looking at the Unibomber on a massive scale. The areas they
dominate exist in a medieval-level world, (women, for example, have to
go only to “womens” hospitals, bleeding to death or not; and usually
somewhere well below veterinarian clinics in quality)…. except for
the ruling caste, of course, who live in luxury. Meanwhile, the
suffering of the surviving poor and downtrodden only worsens.

I think that we are faced with a very dangerous situation. All who say
they ”don’t support Bush or the war”,  are repeating liberal propaganda and
effectively supporting a very active aggression, which is undeniably
bent on (by it’s own doctrine) subjugation of the entire world by
brutal force. We are planting the deadly seeds of indecision that
will cost the lives of our soldiers (sons, daughters, mothers,
fathers, and friends), and ultimately us.

Terrorism violates every conceivable principle that we, Western Civilization
hold. Religious terrorism violates them repeatedly, and with gleeful
delight. To fail to oppose terrorism puts the lie to everything we do.
To fail to oppose religious terrorism, rigorously, is basically
murder/suicide.

One of the most important aspects of Christianity is that we live our
religion – we walk the walk. Would you oppose a rape? A murder? A
child molester? Would you allow someone to keep a slave ? Would you defend the victim? Help them escape? Would you stand by and allow it to happen on the basis of an ill-defined philosophy of pacifism towards the rapist/murderer/ slave owner?
Would you let them get away to do it again? What do you do about a
person whose religion says they must kill you in order to get into
“heaven” and they have indeed come to kill you? These are hard
questions. We are faced with them now. Answer them
carefully: Your answer will be heard by millions.
Disagree with the way it came to be (short-sighted capitalistic greed
and political manipulation) ….
Disagree with the way the war being handled, please! 
Disagree with the diminishment of the rights of free people anywhere…
Disagree with the enslavement of people…
Disagree with (and stop) despotism…
Disagree with (and prosecute) the Daddy Warbucks’…
Disagree with the ongoing rape of our natural world that goes on daily
(or die slowly)…

But disagree constructively by making sure it’s done well… not by
mindlessly repeating liberal oriented, prepackaged, emotional
slogans and “cheap shots” that are empty of content (from either
side!). You might be feeding the monster… in fact, you probably
are. Ignorance tastes great.

Independently educate yourself about what is really going on and how
it came into being; more importantly, how to stop it and prevent it.
Know who’s doing what – and why. Then act – responsively and
responsibly.
But do not disagree with the destruction of a monster that wants to
destroy freedom, and those who bring it into being. That monster is in many places; it wears many faces… it shouts slogans, too. Learn the lessons howled from millions of shallow graves: Do not stop short; Do not let the monster grow.

If you do, you won’t have to ask yourself if you’re right or wrong… the evil of Islam will already have decided.

 

This site was a Good choice

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

I have to admit that at first I was not to crazy about moving Ivorydome from blogspot. It seemed to “busy”, to me, and harder to work with. But I’ve really grown like it. One reason is that, If you watch closely, you will see that the ad’s that constantly change, and often follow what we post about. This many times leads to interesting reading. But you have to be quick as they change nearly everytime I log on.

Yesterday this link was up. Regardless of religious belief, I was surprised at how closely this described described events in the middle east. It mirror’s much of my own thought. Check it out.

http://www.fallofislam.com

Undermining American Civilization

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

By sword or by bent knee, Islam’s goal is to dominate the world. Here we see the acceleration of the fall of America. While Christianity has long been under attack by liberals, they will approach this with widespread arms. Take a long look at the true face of Islam.

If you don’t know the custom of swearing oath (There much disagreement on this) on a bible was started by George Washington when he was elected our first president. Legend has it that he added the words “so help me God” and used either his family bible, or one borrowed from a nearby Masonic lodge.

While it is true that perhaps for the first time, a true test of the separation of government and religion is facing America, it is a test that should never have been allowed to happen. In this case I must agree that he be allowed to take his oath on the Qu’ran as to not do so would truly be a violation of the 1st amendment.

But this man, Keith Ellison, a former member of the Racist group Nation of Islam, should never have been elected. Many years of every conceivable way of tearing down the Judea Christian principals this Nation was built upon has culminated in setting the stage for a dangerous, violent and intellectually backward group of people under the guise of Islam to advance their gutter culture.

The many years of liberal effort to destroy everything Christian, everything derived from Western Culture is about to pay off. We are about to see the  rise of Islam in America.

The Pope and Islam

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Is it dehellenization, or is it liberalism you decide. The Pope said what needed to be said. I think he just should have changed that one word to bring things into modern context.

The War with Islam

Saturday, October 14th, 2006

This is a repeat of another debate that I am in on Grits for Breakfast an excellent liberal blog. Read the original post. The last post by kelly higgins. I’ve repeated it here then  broken her response up and put them in italics. My response is in between the italics.

kelly higgins said…

Celtic did not say, at least in the first post, that radical crazy nutjob killer muslims are monsters. He said, speaking of monsters, “Hitler, Stalin Pol Pot and Osama are but a few. So is Islam.” Unless Celtic is saying that Islam is “but a few,” which would be incoherent, he is saying that Islam is a monster.Now let’s not go crazy by saying that Islam isn’t a monster because Christianity starts wars too. That is only an argument that Christianity is also a monster. I wouldn’t argue with that, or with Celtic’s opinion of Islam, but he can’t sidestep his statement. celtictexan says Islam is a monster. he says that the US should attack Islam until it cries for mercy. That is absurd. The US should withdraw its forces from other countries, secure its borders against foreign invasion, and spend a few hours studying its own constitution, which until recently guaranteed the closest thing to freedom ever realized on a national scale.

Celtictexan display precisely the sort of monstrous thinking he so violently opposes in Islam. Maybe celtictexan is ripe for conversion. It’s very simple celtic: say “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” There! All done.

Now get in there and take the island of Iowa Jima, cowardness or bravitude notwithstanding.

My response was this;

celtictexan said…
–kelly higgins said…
Celtic did not say, at least in the first post, that radical crazy nutjob killer muslims are monsters. He said, speaking of monsters, “Hitler, Stalin Pol Pot and Osama are but a few. So is Islam.–
Islam is a monster! Poverty lawyer said that I called all Muslims monsters. Most Muslims live the life of Islam because to reject Islam is punishable by death. It’s in the Koran look it up your self. Most Muslims don’t know what we have –the closest thing to freedom ever realized on a national scale.– They live and support Islam because of cowardice and ignorance as I said in my first post.

Your name suggests that you are a woman. It mystifies me that you seem to think the treatment of women under Islam is not monstrous. Perhaps you don’t think a religion that justifies the killing of 3000 Innocent Americans to not be monstrous. And before you say it was just a few radicals, remember the hundreds of thousands in the Mideast in the streets cheering afterwords. I suspect you only get your news from liberal sources so you might be unaware that Osama is now the most popular name for boys born in the Islamic world. Perhaps you would like to go here,

http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/berg_killing.zipand see what Islam does in the name of Allah. Or perhaps “muslimsout.org” might make you proud. It might at least educate you, as you on this subject obviously are not.

–Now let’s not go crazy by saying that Islam isn’t a monster because Christianity starts wars too.–

Name a war after the Crusades started in the name of Christianity. Not a war that evokes God to be on their side but one in the name of.

–I wouldn’t argue with that, or with Celtic’s opinion of Islam, but he can’t sidestep his statement. celtictexan says Islam is a monster.–

I don’t and it is.

–he says that the US should attack Islam until it cries for mercy. That is absurd.

We should, and your liberal philosophy and cowardice is the only thing absurd.

–The US should withdraw its forces from other countries, secure its borders against foreign invasion,–

This is equivalent to you witnessing a rape or murder, within your power to stop, and doing nothing because its not in your own home.

–and spend a few hours studying its own constitution, which until recently guaranteed the closest thing to freedom ever realized on a national scale.–You mean these parts?

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

To provide and maintain a navy;

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

–Celtictexan display precisely the sort of monstrous thinking he so violently opposes in Islam.–

You display the same type of cowardly ill informed liberal mindset that enables the Monsters. People like you are responsible for the 6 million Jews killed in gas chambers in Nazi Germany. The 11 millin killed under Stalins purges. You are responsible for the killing fields of Cambodia. You are responsible for the Islamic murder of the people of Darfur. You, and your head in the sand thinking. You empower the monsters.

–”There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” There! All done.

You show some knowledge of the monstrous Islamic philosophy I speak of. I will fight and if need be die first. You will meekly put on your Burka.

–Now get in there and take the island of Iowa Jima, cowardness or bravitude notwithstanding.–

Yeah, go ahead mock the men who gave their lives to give you, your freedom to drivel your liberal garbage. It’s all I expect from your kind.

 

The Other 9-11

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

On September 11, we will commemorate the fateful events of five years ago.  But I wonder how many people will reflect on what occurred 323 years ago on that date.

 

            In 1683, the Islamic forces of the Ottoman Empire were threatening Central Europe, having already conquered Hungary and Transylvania in a conflict that had been raging for 300 years. By July 14th of that year, the Ottoman forces, led by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, already had Vienna under siege.  Without reinforcements, Vienna would most certainly fall, and with it, most likely the rest of Europe.

 

            The Poles, led by King Jan III Sobieski, came to the rescue, joining forces with troops from Saxony, Bavaria, Baden, Franconia and Swabia, as well as the Austrians under Emperor Leopold.  The alliance, known as the Holy League, routed the Ottomans in the Battle of Vienna, which began on September 11 and concluded on September 12, 1683.

 

            It took another 16 years, but the Europeans finally succeeded in pushing the Turks out of Hungary and Transylvania.  The Great Powers of Europe at the time (Austria, Prussia, and Russia) showed their gratitude to the Poland by gradually carving up Polish territory among themselves until by 1795, Poland disappeared as a sovereign nation.  It would take another 123 years and a World War before Poland regained its independence.

 

            So what does this have to do with the 9-11 of five years ago, you might ask?  I can think of three things:  1)  Just like 17th Century Europe, Western civilization is being threatened by a form of radical Islam that wants to spread its religion and influence by force throughout the world; 2) Like the Poles, we Americans can expect about as much gratitude from the rest of the world for our efforts as Sobieski received for his; and 3) As was the case  more than 300 years ago, there is no quick fix; the current conflict will not be won in five, or even ten, years.  But we must continue to both resist and take the offensive if we expect our way of life to survive.

For more details on the Battle of Vienna, check out this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna