This conflict of cultures has endured for more than a millenium. The first wave began with the conquest of Mecca by Mohammed in 630 CE. It crested in Al Andalus (Moorish Spain) in 711, only receding in 1492 when Los Reyes Católicos entered Granada.
The second wave began when Osman raided Western Byzantium in 1299 and founded the Ottoman Empire. It crested during the reign of Süleyman I in the 16th century, and receded after the failure of the second siege of Vienna under Kara Mustafa in 1683.
From our perspective at the dawn of the 21st century it is hard to realize that a little more than three centuries ago the whole of Christian civilization was threatened. When the Turks stood at the Gates of Vienna it seemed that all of Europe would be overrun by the legions of the Prophet.
This war never ended. While many individual treaties were made between various states over the centuries, no truce was ever declared between Islam and the infidels, and no permanent peace was established (as General Gordon discovered at Khartoum in 1885).
So when did the Third Wave begin?
- Was it with the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna?
- Was it the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979?
- Or was it on September 11th, 2001?
When will the Third Wave crest? And when will it begin to recede?
The thesis of this blog is that, like it or not, we are in a religious war. We do not define the terms but we should take careful note of them. We are mistaken if we think the Enemy wants merely to kill us. Once again, Jihad offers two choices to the West: conversion or death. Jihad exists in order to annihilate unbelief. Christians, Jews, Hindus, atheists, or Wiccans, it is all the same to him.
Once again, our survival depends on our capacity to unite in a common cause against physical and cultural destruction.
Full disclosure: the authors are practicing (non-evangelical) Christians, staunch supporters of Israel and the Jews, and tolerant of all. Even those who don't agree with us or with one another.
We invite comments and discussion on GIJ3W and related topics.
15 comments:
Richard -- "The concept of standing up for your convictions has, by social engineering through education and manipulation of the filters of the media subsumed the original prevailing dominant culture..."
I think the media has to bear the major part of the blame, especially television. Television panders to people's worst impulses in order to gain their attention, and then lulls them into ignorant somnolence.
Kill your TV!
A suggested next step: subscribe to a DVD mail rental. Have everyone help decide which movies to watch--and which to refuse to patronize, and why.
Find lots of well-written movie reviews. Take turns reading them. Argue with the reviewers' ideas. Remind them that claiming a movie "sucks" is not an argument; it's an exhibition of an inability to think.
This form of pedagogy is painless, develops an aesthetic sense, an ability to present one's ideas coherently and eventually it leads to reading.
Playing "Battleship" is pretty cool, too. So is poker.
In other words, develop in your children an appreciation of beauty, rhetoric, and strategy --all of which prepares them to earn their way thru college. ;}~D
JA Richard:
It is OT, but so what. Life mostly is.
Please email me. I have a parallel history and some ideas that might (wish I could put a little wavy line under "might"). My adult daughter died two years ago from the long-term effects of abuse. Not only hers, but the agony of watching her older brother endure so much...a long story.
Due to her father's perfidy, this child lies in an unmarked grave. The same honor and considertion he showed her in life he has bestowed in death.
Also have some ideas re childhood/adolescent teaching. You may or may not find helpful. I am assisting my daughter's widower, my son-in-law, in finding a niche for their son.
There is no cruelty like family cruelty, there is no balm like the touch of a child's hand.
Do email me.
~D
Because, you know, Osama is so much better off hiding in a cave somewhere, with his organization shot to hell (literally), and his capos either dead, captured, or looking for a cave of their own to hide in. Brilliant strategery on their part.
I just discovered your blog, very interesting reading.
I would like to add one comment.
After the Muslim Armies were driven back from the Gates of Vienna in 1683, the Alliance which defeated them wanted to form a more complete European Alliance to drive them out of the conquered territories of Eastern Europe.
But France for one, which had extensive economic ties with the Ottoman Empire, was not interested.
Sound familiar?
Plus ça change, eh?
DualCitizen.net Expert --
Yes, I know, I know. I generally cal it "The Great Jihad" or "The Great Islamic Jihad". But when I'm feeling really pedantic, I call it "The Third Wave of the Great Islamic Jihad".
Take your pick. The "Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism" just doesn't cut it.
This is an aritcle I wrote sometime back on the Battle of Lepanto:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/A_001_Lepanto.html
Yes, a new phase in a VERY old war.
Engineer --
You are right about Islam and the Nazis; I wrote about the Grand Mufti in my post about the Armenian Genocide.
But their new alliance is with the Left, and perhaps what we have is a 3-way convergence: The Islamofascists, the hardcore Left, and the Jew-hating skinhead Aryan Nation Right.
We live in a strange time.
As you may know, I have visited your site quite often. However, I had not come upon this post until today. I like it, especially the brevity of the summary of this battle. I am linking to it in my post today.
Thanks,
W.
if this peaks your mind.. please see link for more..God did not forget to tell us about Islam and PS I would call it the final jihad:
Recent Events in the Holy Land
fulfill Bible prophecy.
It can now be shown conclusively that Daniel, a prophet in the Hebrew Scriptures, prophesied the coming of Islam 1200 years before Muhammad was born. Those same scriptures prophesied the crucifixion of Messiah over 500 years before Jesus was born. John, another Bible prophet, foresaw the new nation of Israel 1800 years before it was established. John then prophesied that Jerusalem would be freed of Islamic control by 1967.
All these events were foreseen right to the year, putting to rest the Islamic claim that Jewish and Christian Scriptures were corrupted. Many Moslems also believe the number 666 points to the Koran and its prophet. The coming of a man identified with that number, and its dire significance, was prophesied in the Bible over 600 years before the Koran was written.
http://fishhouseministries.com/
Religious arguments aside, the question is, why are so many non-Islamic people in high places so willing to enable this influx of Arabs and Moslems, especially in the wake of September 11th. There must be a larger picture here.
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Apcalis
As a poor student of history this post helps me a great deal. The public dialog is so soaked with this idea that Islam is peaceful that I had nothing to prove otherwise except just my own research after 9/11 and reading articles such as this. I'm a poor student of history because some have it and some don't in that area.
This does not excuse me from taking the network news, AP, Reuters at face value. We need to dig on something as important as this. I have heard the other side. This website, European News and others are equal time.
As one of God's children I have weighed Islam and found it wanting. People involved in Islam are doomed for eternity. The reason the Christian culture in America is so diverse and patient and tolerant is because it gives people more time to make peace with their Creator before the end of their life. If any of you reading this have a problem even with Christianity you must also give it equal time and a good place to start is to read the eyewitness, John. The gospel of John in any version of the Bible are the most important pages you can ever read.
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