The surrender of Sultan of Grenada Muhammad
XII to the Catholic Crown was
a huge blow to Islam and a final end of Muslim rule in Europe. However with
a
new 'Caliph' in Iraq, are we witnessing an attempted comeback of Muslim
rule?
The Battle of
Granada Part II: 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
