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The Crusades: When Christendom Pushed Back
New American ^ | SELWYN DUKE

Posted on 02/20/2010 6:35:24 PM PST by ventanax5

he year is 732 A.D., and Europe is under assault. Islam, born a mere 110 years earlier, is already in its adolescence, and the Muslim Moors are on the march.

Growing in leaps and bounds, the Caliphate, as the Islamic realm is known, has thus far subdued much of Christendom, conquering the old Christian lands of the Mideast and North Africa in short order. Syria and Iraq fell in 636; Palestine in 638; and Egypt, which was not even an Arab land, fell in 642. North Africa, also not Arab, was under Muslim control by 709. Then came the year 711 and the Moors’ invasion of Europe, as they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered Visigothic Iberia (now Spain and Portugal). And the new continent brought new successes to Islam. Conquering the Iberian Peninsula by 718, the Muslims crossed the Pyrenees Mountains into Gaul (now France) and worked their way northward. And now, in 732, they are approaching Tours, a mere 126 miles from Paris.

(Excerpt) Read more at thenewamerican.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: christendom; crusades; europe; godsgravesglyphs; history; islam; jerusalem; jihad; middleages; religion; wot
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1 posted on 02/20/2010 6:35:24 PM PST by ventanax5
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To: ventanax5

Christendom pushed back because it was still united. This was long before the Reformation.


2 posted on 02/20/2010 6:45:59 PM PST by 353FMG (Save the Planet -- Eliminate Socialism)
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To: 353FMG; Petronski; Salvation; NYer

It is quite interesting, actually, that before 9/11 the Crusades were just another example used to bash the Catholic Church as an evil satanic institution. Times seem to have changed in that regard. I wonder what other black legends there are that will fall?


3 posted on 02/20/2010 6:50:09 PM PST by big'ol_freeper ("Anyone pushing Romney must love socialism...Piss on Romney and his enablers!!" ~ Jim Robinson)
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To: ventanax5
Christendom is still under attack. Some people know this. EDL: http://www.loonwatch.com/2009/12/this-is-england-on-the-trail-with-the-edl/
4 posted on 02/20/2010 6:52:19 PM PST by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spirito Sancto.)
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To: ventanax5
Saint James the Muslim Slayer saved Spain from an Islamic take over. If it wasn't for him, Spain would be another Somalia.


5 posted on 02/20/2010 7:03:17 PM PST by garjog (Used to be liberals were just people to disagree with. Now they are a threat to our existence.)
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To: americanophile; Kolokotronis; annalex; MahatmaGandu; skeeter; NYer; Islaminaction; La Lydia; ...

6 posted on 02/20/2010 7:04:22 PM PST by americanophile (Good luck Team USA! Bring home the gold!)
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To: americanophile

btt


7 posted on 02/20/2010 7:07:00 PM PST by MattinNJ (Pence/Palin)
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To: ventanax5

`


8 posted on 02/20/2010 7:09:45 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o (Point of information.)
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To: ventanax5
The truth is, the reason for the crusades were as much political/financial as they were religious. There was loot to be had, which is much the same reason the muslims invaded much of Europe prior to the crusades.
9 posted on 02/20/2010 7:10:17 PM PST by highlander_UW (Obama has lost or not saved over 4 million jobs!)
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To: combat_boots

Great photograph.


10 posted on 02/20/2010 7:11:06 PM PST by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: annalex

Stunning, isn’t it?

For God, the King and St. George.


11 posted on 02/20/2010 7:14:34 PM PST by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spirito Sancto.)
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To: ventanax5

What many people tend to forget, is that much of what is now the Middle East, was Christian land, and the ancestors of today’s Muslims, once Christian themselves.


12 posted on 02/20/2010 7:37:19 PM PST by James C. Bennett
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To: James C. Bennett

It will be Christian again. Most Muslims will be happy to convert back. Those who won’t can always go back into the sands they came from.


13 posted on 02/20/2010 7:47:33 PM PST by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: ventanax5
Actualy, it was Latin Christendom. And they were supposed to help the East Romans/Byzantines but eventually sacked Constantinople. And I'm not even going to get into the targetting of the Jews in the Rhineland.

The Crusades were necessary. I just wish they had been carried out better.

PS. Soem opf my ancestors were fighting the Caliphate in the Caucuses intermittently from 650 to 737 ina series of wars that makes Tours look like the turning back of a Recon in Force.

14 posted on 02/20/2010 7:50:41 PM PST by rmlew (Democracy tends to ignore..., threats to its existence because it loathes doing what is needed)
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To: annalex

>>It will be Christian again. Most Muslims will be happy to convert back.<<

.
Care to elaborate?


15 posted on 02/20/2010 8:47:08 PM PST by 353FMG (Save the Planet -- Eliminate Socialism)
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To: ventanax5
The miracle of Lepanto also helped in this defeat. Check out these FR threads to find out what happened.

How Europe Escaped Speaking Arabic
The Battle of Lepanto
Civilization in the Balance: The Battle of Lepanto and Election ‘08

LEPANTO
A Call To Prayer: This Lepanto Moment [Repost]
Lepanto, 1571: The Battle That Saved Europe
Celebrating the Battle of Lepanto
Clash of civilizations: Battle of Lepanto revisited

Lepanto, Bertone e Battesimo, Oh My!
Lepanto Sunday
Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval (A Mini-Lepanto in the Philippines)
Swiss Guards at the Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571
Battle of Lepanto

LEPANTO, 7 OCTOBER 1571: The Defense of Europe
Battle of Lepanto
Remember Lepanto!
The Battle of Lepanto
On This Day In History, The Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto

Chesterton's Lepanto
The Miracle At Lepanto...
Lepanto
The Naval Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto

16 posted on 02/20/2010 8:53:54 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: combat_boots



~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
 Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we  humbly pray,
 and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
 by the power of God,
 Cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
 Amen
+

17 posted on 02/20/2010 8:54:56 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: 353FMG

Elaborate on what?

In a century or two, he Arabs of Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Lybia, — the entire Mediterrainean Africa will be predominantly Catholic Christian, as they once were. The only thing that can stop it is poor witness of the Christians of the West. Islam, spiritually, is a spent force, that is why it only produces bomb-throwers. Today, the best of Arabia is living secular lives in the West. Tomorrow they’ll be kneeling next to us in the pews.


18 posted on 02/20/2010 8:56:32 PM PST by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: highlander_UW
“The truth is, the reason for the crusades were as much political/financial as they were religious.”

The article persuasively points out that the road to financial success wasn't likely to be found by mortgaging your lands and traveling 1500 miles to fight war hardened soldiers in an effort to steal their stuff.

19 posted on 02/20/2010 8:57:52 PM PST by TalBlack
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To: annalex

Wow. I hope you’re right. You seem to have more faith in your fellowmen than I have. It would be very presumptious of me to call you naive, so I won’t.


20 posted on 02/20/2010 9:08:38 PM PST by 353FMG (Save the Planet -- Eliminate Socialism)
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