Posted on 09/22/2001 7:43:30 AM PDT by Achilleus66
Many in this country right now are looking to the Middle East and some believe that the fanatacism of the Muslims who wish this country harm somehow makes them unstopable. "How can we beat them?" is sometimes asked. It can easily be done. And we can look back in history for examples. In the West, typically, we look to the Battle of Tours, but the true decisive defeat of jihad came a generation earlier, before the gates of the Queen of Cities, often neglected by modern historians.
When the first wave of Islamic conquest burst forth from the Arabian desert about 633AD they seemed unstopable. From 633AD to 711AD, a span of four generations, they took all of North Africa, Syria, Israel, Iraq and the entire Persian Empire. In 711AD the force of jihad invaded Spain and chased the Visigoths all the way up into the northern mountains of the Iberian Peninsula. The fire of jihad had consumed half the world, how could it be stopped?
More than half of the listed territory had been raped away from the Eastern Roman Empire, which was now reduced to Anatolia and Greece. The 'Umayyids, the ruling dynasty of all Islam, cast their eyes upon the great city of Constantinople, the New Rome. They had conquered all of Byzantium's provinces, why not now take the city itself?
In 717AD the 'Umayyid prince, Maslama, marched on the city and was supported by a vast fleet. But Emperor Leo III, the Isaurian, was ready. The crafty Anatolian soldier-emperor had stockpiled plenty of supplies in the great city, had built up his army, and had copious amounts of Greek Fire(napalm, basically).
Leo met Maslama with his own determination. He used superior naval skill to his advantage. The winter of 717-718AD was exceedingly harsh by the standards of the usually mild Bosporus. The warriors of Allah, usually so scrupulous with their diet, WERE REDUCED TO CANNIBALISM.
In the Spring of 718, with the help of Bulgarian allies, the Eastern Roman Army finally forced Maslama to withdraw. This was more than a simple setback for the jihad of Islam, it was a total defeat. No Muslim army would assail the walls of Constantinople for nearly 700 years after this. This, combined with the defeat at Tours in 732AD, were psychological turning points after which the Muslim Armies began to retreat from Europe, rather than advance into it. After Constantinople and Tours the Muslims took to spreading their faith largely by peaceful means. It would be centuries before Muslim armies would march forth to spread their faith by the sword again.
Jihad is a psychological phenomenon. On how to defeat it, we merely need to take a lesson from Leo III the Isaurian. We must show that our resolve is stronger, that our faith is stronger, that our military might is stronger. What we need is to inflict a Constantinople or Tours style defeat upon them. To replace the idea of invincible jihad with the idea that jihad only brings death and destruction. And we can do it. Jihad is sort of a flash in the pan thing which goes in and out of fashion throughout Islamic History. The traditions of Bushido and Prussian militarism ran much deeper in their respective societies, yet, after the defeat of 1945, neither of these traditions has been in use for nearly three generations now. The idea of jihad has been beaten in the past by men with resources far inferior to our own. All we have to do is harden ourselves and fight the good fight. We can and will do it again.
Where does your interest in Turkey and Byzantium come from?
Sounds like a plan to me! ;^)
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