The surrender of Sultan of Grenada Muhammad
XII to the Catholic Crown was a
major blow to Islam and the final end of Muslim rule in Europe. However with a
new 'Caliph' in Iraq, are we witnessing an attempted
comeback of Muslim rule?
Battle of
Granada Redux: Islam's Revenge on the West (O Globo, Brazil)
"After the
grand illusion of the Arab Spring, which laughably foresaw democratic tomorrows
for the Middle East, the wheel of history is now rotating in reverse. From the
disintegration of the existing regional order and its replacement by radical,
anti-Western forces arises a more disturbing scene than ever. The threat of
forces that seek a rematch against Charles Martel and the Catholic kings of
Granada is a systemic and unprecedented threat."
In the Battle of Poitiers
in 732, Charles Martel
defeated Muslim forces and put a stop to Arab expansionism, which had already
conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula and intended to advance across the
European continent. In January 1492, the victory of the Catholic kings at the Battle of
Granada consummated the fall of the Caliphate of al-Andalus. These two defeats marked the end
of the Arab presence on the European continent and represented a humiliation
that the Muslims never digested. Al-Qaeda and now the Islamic State seek, in a
certain way, to avenge these defeats by the West.
The extremist caliphate in Iraq and Syria is a new guise.
This means that the unexpected has occurred: there is now an Islamic State (IS)
with human resources, ample funds, heavy weapons, military bases, a sense of
nationhood and a determined leadership. Such a state is a dangerous terrorist
organization and more. It is a de-facto government that seeks to impose its
conception of the world on millions of people, and today controls and seeks to
expand its borders and promote terrorist activity abroad. It acts based on medieval
political ideas, but utilizes all of the modern resources of social media. Its
leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, issued a statement praising bin Laden at the time
of his death and threatened violent retaliation. This is what is going on today.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The United States and the world in general were suddenly
confronted with this new reality. For the first time, as its recent actions
have demonstrated, this government actually seeks to expand its borders, within
which it seeks to impose its vision on millions of people over whom it exerts
its ascendency.
Iraq, a state in decomposition, has been the original base and
main theater of operations for IS. But Syria, another state in breakdown, is now
at the core of its military operations. It was naively believed that Bashar
al-Assad’s opponents were democrats. Quickly, though, radical groups took the
forefront. From then on, the flow of financial resources, recruits and weapons
for the radical ISIL began.
Henry Kissinger, despite his 90 years, is still sharp and lucid,
and states in his recently published book [World
Order] that "Syria and Iraq will likely be incapable of rebuilding
themselves as conventional states. The conflict in these countries and the surrounding
areas has become the symbol of a new and disturbing trend: the disintegration
of nation states and their absorption by sectarian and tribal units, across
borders in violent clashes between themselves and manipulated by outside
forces, without observing any rules beyond brute force [translated quote]."
After the grand illusion of the Arab Spring, which laughably
foresaw democratic tomorrows for the Middle East, the wheel of history is now
rotating in reverse. From the disintegration of the existing regional order and
its replacement by radical, anti-Western forces arises a more disturbing scene
than ever. The threat of forces that seek a rematch against Charles Martel and
the Catholic kings of Granada is a systemic and unprecedented threat. The West
is beginning to realize this, although it is not yet clear what conclusions it
will draw.
*Luiz
Felipe Lampreia was foreign
minister of Brazil from 1995-2001
