Posted on 01/05/2006 6:25:09 AM PST by 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.
No, its quite simple. Islam winks and nods at sexual immorality that Christianity utterly condemns. It really is all about sex.
That night, the basilica of St. Peter gleamed with breathtaking brilliance. A few years earlier, Leo IIIs 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.Frankly, with no disrespect meant to the Pope, any time you cover a Church with that much gold and silver the proper response is for someone to sack the Church and deflate your ego a bit. That much money on the floor is just asking for it. Make it beautiful and opulent, but its not a palace, its a Church. That much gold and silver, imho, moves beyond providing the proper respect to the Tabernacle, and begins to shift the focus to men and their wealth, detracting from the worship of God. The muslims probably did us a favor in sacking it.. . .
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.
patent
That might be the best known but there are a number of others.
Nomads have raiding in their blood. I say the nomad is embedded in the Arab Muslim psyche. Read "Warriors of the Steppe" http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-49,GGLG:en&q=%22Warriors+of+the+Steppe%22 for a great account of the Mongols and why nomads raid the more sedentary. The agricultural peoples. They do it to supplement their diet. They could trade but prefer to raid because they are raised to be better horsemen. Thus better at war
Seems like selectively immorality such as multiple wives, infiledity of woman is worse than for their men (double standard same as Christian culture), the men seem to want to keep Islamic women virginal but others are fair game, and that iman in London took a pretty strong stand against homosexuality. I don't know if bestiality is as common as some imply.
I agree with you but think there is more to it than that.
Excellent post. I went ahead and posted Walter Brandmuller's entire presentation, which seems quite a lucid and historically sound approach ... and a breath of fresh air amongst all this Religion of Peace codswallop out there.
Thanks. good dialogue
Psychology is similar to history. If you want real science, not PC-driven drivel, go to the old texts.
That soulless building really captures the beauty of islam.
That is fine...just leave the Orthodox alone during this one :)
Recently I watched a documentary on building Domes, they basically make plain that many Istanbul mosques were inspired by The Church of the Holy Wisdom which the Muslims stole and converted into a mosque. It's very sad.
Figured you guys might want to help out your Roman Catholic cousins on this one. What do you say? :)
Islam allows quickie relationships for sex if heterosexual.
An insightful post.
The Hagia Sophia!!! No respect for anything outside their own religion. Islam has no notion of inalienable natural or human rights such as envisioned by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. Moreover, Islam does not acknowledge civil rights, i. e. rights which inure to people by virtue of their membership in a political state. The only rights possessed by Muslims and dhimmi are religious rights recognized in the Quran and codified in the Sheria.
True, but the Mongols aren't Muslim.
Only after their empire broke up into different Khanate's did some convert to Islam.
After all, if they all converted to Islam, it would really be difficult to explain how come the modern Mongols are Buddhist.
"True, but the Mongols aren't Muslim. "
No argument. Just pointing out another amazing Euro history factoid that's ignored when teaching history.
Have you seen this?
The jihadist enemy has established a foothold in the heart of Rome and the city government caved in to the enemy regarding the crescent moon issue. Big mistake!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.