Holy War: The Year the Muslims Took Rome

Chiesa.com ^ | January 5, 2005 | Sandro Magister

[NYer]

ROMA, January 5, 2006 – A book published recently in the United States lifts the veil on a crucial aspect of Islam, one which too many understand poorly and know too little about: jihad, the holy war.

It is an aspect that meets with widespread silence, as if it were a taboo. Even among Christians, there are wide gaps on this topic in the general awareness of Church history.

An example? Many recall what happened in Rome, at St. Peter’s Basilica, the night of Christmas Day of the year 800. After the Mass, pope Leo III solemnly placed upon the head of Charlemagne the crown of the Holy Roman Empire.

That night, the basilica of St. Peter gleamed with breathtaking brilliance. A few years earlier, Leo III’s predecessor, pope Hadrian I, had covered the entire floor of the sanctuary with plates of silver; he had covered the walls with gold plates and enclosed it all with a balustrade of gold weighing 1,328 pounds. He had remade the sanctuary gates with silver, and had placed on the iconostasis six images also made of silver, representing Christ, Mary, the archangels Gabriel and Michael, and saints Andrew and John. Finally, in order to make this splendor visible to all, he had ordered the assembly of a candelabrum in the form of a huge cross, on which 1,365 candles burned.

But less than half a century later, none of this remained. And what happened remains generally unknown among Christians today.

What happened is that in 846 some Muslim Arabs arrived in a fleet at the mouth of the Tiber, made their way to Rome, sacked the city, and carried away from the basilica of St. Peter all of the gold and silver it contained.

And this was not just an incidental attack. In 827 the Arabs had conquered Sicily, which they kept under their dominion for two and a half centuries. Rome was under serious threat from nearby. In 847, the year after the assault, the newly elected pope Leo IV began the construction of walls around the entire perimeter of the Vatican, 12 meters high and equipped with 44 towers. He completed the project in six years. These are the “Leonine” walls, and significant traces of them still remain. But very few today know that these walls were erected to defend the see of Peter from an Islamic jihad. And many of those who do know this remain silent out of discretion. “Bridges, not walls” is the fashionable slogan today.

* * *
The book that lifts the veil on the Islamic holy war is entitled “The Legacy of Jihad,” and is edited by Andrew G. Bostom.

The book is essentially made up of documents, many of which have been translated for the first time from Arabic or Farsi, or have been reproduced from books of oriental studies that would be difficult for the general public to find.

The documents range from Mohammed in the seventh century, to the twentieth century. And they include the classic texts on the topic of jihad by Muslim theologians and jurists, accounts of war from ancient and modern witnesses, and analyses of jihad by scholars of varying outlooks.

The book also contains islamic miniatures depicting moments of jihad throughout history, and maps that document the military expansion of Islam century after century, from the seventh to the eleventh century. Each map is accompanied by a summary listing the acts of war in each region.

For example, in the ninth century, during which Rome was assaulted and Sicily was conquered, the Muslim armies occupied Bari and Brindisi in Italy for thirty years; Taranto for forty; Benevento for ten; they attacked Naples, Capua, Calabria, and Sardinia several times; they put the abbey of Montecassino to fire and the sword; they even made skirmishes in northern Italy, arriving from Spain and crossing over the Alps.

One fact emerges clearly from the documentation compiled by Bostom: jihad is not just one of the forms by which the expansion of Islam took place in particular places and times, but it is an institution inherent to the Islamic system itself; it is a permanent religious obligation.

One astonishing thing is that it was not a specialist who published this documentation in the West. Bostom is an epidemiologist living in Providence, Rhode Island. But perhaps this very distance from the academic world of the oriental and Islamic studies scholars leaves him more free from the taboos that gag many of these.

Biting criticisms of the pro-Islamic sentiment of much of Western culture have been written by, among others, Jacques Ellul, Oriana Fallaci, and Bat Ye’or. The latter of these is a leading specialist in the condition of subordination systematically imposed by Islam upon the non-Muslim subjects of conquered countries. She is also the author of an essay published in 2005, carrying the eloquent title “Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis.”

One of the central theses of the three authors cited is that Islam is an organic whole and cannot be reformed in its essential elements, and that personal freedom and rights cannot be incorporated into it.

But even another author who does not share this thesis, and is indeed one of the most decisive proponents of the idea that Islam and democracy are compatible – Bernard Lewis, one of the most authoritative Islamic studies experts alive, professor at Princeton University – has severely criticized the pro-Islamic tendencies in vogue among Western intellectuals and politicians, even among Jewish ones.

In an essay entitled “The Pro-Islamic Jews,” Lewis explains how the idea of an early Islamic Spain tolerant of Christians and Jews – evoked by many today as a golden age – is a romantic myth of the nineteenth century, created by Jews themselves in their intellectual conflict with Christians.

And modern Turkey’s aligning itself with the Western world and its support for the state of Israel have also induced a widespread unwillingness to speak about the massacres it carried out last century against the Armenian Christians.

Other factors encouraging the general silence over the holy wars of yesterday and today – and also over slavery, which is still practiced by Muslims in some regions, over assaults on churches and the killing of Christians – are the effort to establish a good relationship with the increasing numbers of Muslim immigrants in Europe, fear of terrorist attacks, and the desire to create distance from the outlook of the “clash of civilizations.”

But the Muslim victims of this reticence and silence on the part of the West are precisely those who are courageously fighting to reform the Islamic faith and reconcile it with democracy and modernity.

It’s a good thing that, with books like the one by Andrew G. Bostom, they aren’t being left entirely alone.

[TexConfederate1861]

Of Course...:)

[apro]

The site below has some interesting computer graphics of what the church and other Byzantine Monuments looked like as of year 1200 AD.

http://www.byzantium1200.com/hagia.html
http://www.byzantium1200.com/contents.html

[Zack Nguyen]

Thank you for your thoughtful analysis.

I don't believe Christianity will prevail over Islam until the return of Christ.

Not so sure about that! Remember who we represent - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He has overcome the world. Also, if Christ has ordered us to make disciples of all nations, we have to believe that He is here to help us do just that.

[Aliska]

Not so sure about that! Remember who we represent - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He has overcome the world. Also, if Christ has ordered us to make disciples of all nations, we have to believe that He is here to help us do just that.

I don't claim to have any inside information or special insights, and tend to pessimism as I have watched social changes take such a downward turn the last 30, 40, or so years, but I thought at some point someone (as yet to be identified) will make war with the saints and overcome them. That does not mean to become passive though or that none will be left.

Your positive outlook is a good thing. True, disciples have not been made of some nations. The Muslims seem to be extremely resistant to conversion.

I try not to feed into end-time hype too much, but I do read the scriptures, don't claim to understand what much of them really mean other than a general outline for Christian living, morals, and the promise of a resurrection of the body when Christ returns.

Michael Reagan doesn't think much of what Pat Robertson said. I heard it just now.

[Zack Nguyen]

We have to be better Christians than the Islamists are Islamists. They have a Allah-centric worldview. American Christians do not have a Christocentric worldview, though some progress has been made their in recent years.

To be candid, I have been reading a lot of postmillenialist literature lately.

[Aliska]

To be candid, I have been reading a lot of postmillenialist literature lately.

What are you reading and by whom? I used to read a lot of that, but got bogged down and try to keep a level head.

Things are going to get very bad, I fear. We were told that near the end it was going to be very hard to be a Christian. Check. Some would argue it has always been hard. True, but society supported high morals even if they didn't follow them.

I don't know what to read any more. I pray for guidance and just try to live one day at a time, but do reflect a lot on scripture. I sure wish I could get a better handle on Daniel.

[bornacatholic]

Don't forget the Koran suggests that, among other carnal delights, homosexual love is available for the Muslim Martyr in Paradise.

[bornacatholic]

Islam demands Jihad. There are greater and lesser Jihads. The lesser Jihad is war against us Jews and Christians who, the Koran teaches, are children of Apes and Pigs

[bornacatholic]

Yes. One night marriages, in fact. It is useful when all those lonely men are on their pilgrimmages

[bornacatholic]

Well, well. Perhaps I will have to reconsider Islam. Until now, I had never thought sacking a Consecrated Church was a proper response by anyone, least of all Muslims.

(I must be about two quarts low of Ecumenical antifreeze because I think my spiritual radiator is about to boil over)

[Aliska]

What is a greater jihad then? bornacatholic if you don't look closely looks like bornalcholic. One extra a and one missing l. No significance to that observation.

Speaking of alcoholism, that's an advantage the Muslims have with their prohibition of it. I'm not advocating we attempt to do that again, but the social and personal costs are inestimable, even though the scriptures say in the NT that drunkards will not be allowed into heaven. With our supposedly more enlightened understanding of the condition, I don't presume to know how that will play out.

[Zack Nguyen]

There are several good postmillenial sites that I know of:

http://www.garynorth.com

http:///www.freebooks.com (This is another Gary North site, though you can access many of the books though garynorth.com.)

http://www.garydemar.com

http://www.chalcedon.edu

Have fun!

[Aliska]

Just to stay on top of things, I'll check some of that out. Gary North kind of blew it with y2k tough. Thanks for the links.

Oddly, the first link I clicked on took me to a Rushdoony (I think hard to see the pic) book. I chased one of those down on inter-library loan awhile back (different title). It was in a bibliography of a catholic book by the late Fr. Vincent Micelli on the Antichrist.

What was curious about this one is that catholics don't talk much about the end times, and I'm concerned about the cashless society and ultimately a possible embedded chip for financial transactions. That may be kooky on my part. He made a reference in the back of the book to some material about the cashless society, and that was written quite awhile ago.

I just ordered 3 books on photography (used and fairly inexpensive for online books). They will keep me calmer. I'll never be privy to inside info about the end times so I'd better leave it be.

[Aliska]

FWIW, the radio several times today has played a clip with what the Rev. Pat Robertson said about Sharon. I feel that I long ago outgrew Pat Robertson, but think when he first got started he was a man of faith. It seems like they want to make him look bad like he has embarassed the whole country or something.

One problem I had was they went charismatic which was ok with me then but not now, and then he did something that hindsight tells me was not a good thing to do. He had a show broadcast from Jerusalem and told everybody to get bread and had an online communion service. Dumb me, not knowing any better, went along with it.

I don't like to bash him though

[AlaninSA]

Vatican watcher journalist John Allen has no doubt the Catholic Church is afraid

Hey, John Allen, we've been around for over 2000 years. We're a genuine religion, not a cult built around a child molesting psychopath who encouraged war, not peace.

We are NOT afraid of this cult called "Islam."

[bornacatholic]

bornacatholic if you don't look closely looks like bornalcholic

*In my neck of the woods we spell "alcholic" alcoholic

[Aliska]

I've been caught by the spell police. I spelled it correctly when I used the word "alcoholism" and counted the letters. Forgot the other "o".

I'll bet in your neck of the woods people make mistakes, too. I should have kept it all to myself.

Nice to wake up to. Hope the rest of my day goes better.

[bornacatholic]

I'll bet in your neck of the woods people make mistakes, too

*Other, yes. Me, not so much.

[Coleus]

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam

[Salvation]

BTTT!