To the editor:

“911, Three Hundred Years Ago”

Once upon a time - about a thousand years ago - Christian leaders found it expedient to tell their followers to wage war in the name of God. Because you and I are members of that same faith, we have no business drawing distinctions between ourselves and any other faith.

No. That is liberal guilt. It has blinded our reason and neutered our resolve.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Crusades were not a religious attack upon poor, peaceful Muslims. Quite the contrary: they were a desperate military attempt to solve a military problem. The Christians in the East, located in what historians now call the Byzantine Empire, had been under relentless assault by Islamic aggressors for literally hundreds of years. After the disastrous Battle of Manzikert, the Christians were officially losing. The Byzantine emperor, Alexius, asked the Pope in Rome for help. Christian Europe, seeing their Christian brothers on the brink of extinction, responded.

Keep in mind these jihadists had already conquered the Holy Lands, all of northern Africa, all of the Middle East, modern day Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and much of India. They also overran Portugal, Spain, and parts of Italy. Even more disturbing, they conquered three of the five centers of Christianity: Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria. And they were besieging the fourth – Constantinople. Most of these ravaged areas were formally Roman and Christian.

In short, Western Culture was under assault by radical Islam.

Sound familiar?

Perhaps the most striking part of this story is that few of us would guess that these four cities were once the epicenters of the early Christian Church. Few Americans know that the Christians in the East were exterminated during the Middle Ages.

How did that happen?

Islamic jihad.

These same Muslims nearly conquered France – the most powerful country in Europe – when they were narrowly defeated at the Battle of Tours. You may not know it, but this was probably the most important battle in history.

Even more alarming to the West was when Rome – the last center of Christianity – was sacked by Muslim raiders. Half of Christendom had been lost. The Vatican was looted. Western Europe was on its heels. Is it any wonder they fought back?

Now, I’m not defending the tactics employed during the Crusades. Nowadays, everyone (except the terrorists we fight) agrees that religious wars are a very bad thing. We don’t wage wars over religion anymore: it was a mistake – we’ve moved on – about a thousand years ago.

And that’s the point. The entire world has given up on this medieval idea – everyone except the jihadists who are stuck in their feudalistic past.

In fact, Islam is the only current religion that encourages violence. And like Communism, it is the only religion whose stated goal is to convert the rest of the world.

But even that is beside the point. Western culture - the very core of our ideas - began with a peaceful carpenter. He raised no armies. He killed no one. He told his followers that, “he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.”

Compare those words to the prophet’s - who personally beheaded over 500 captives in a single outing. There’s simply no comparison.

Of course no religion is perfect. Of course horrible deeds have been done in the name of God. Religions are full of people, and people are far from perfect.

But the founder of one religion was a peaceful pauper, while the other was a warring general. If you can’t see the moral difference in these two approaches, then I am very sorry for you.

Some might think I’m drudging up useless history. No one cares about that ancient stuff.

Americans don’t care – I’ll grant you that. But consider this…

The high-water mark of Islamic expansion occurred in 1683. A vast, overwhelming Muslim army was about to accomplish something they’d been trying to do for centuries – conquer the jewel of classical Europe – Vienna.

The invaders had pushed further than they’d ever had into central Europe. They had bombed a part of the wall and were ready to storm the Austrian capital. But a Polish king, John Sobieski, came to the rescue of his Christian neighbor, smashing the intruders in a daring cavalry charge. The ignoble defeat of the Muslim army – just when they were on the verge of a glorious success – was a source of disappointment for centuries to come.

The date? September the 11th.

Yeah, 911.

You might not care about this ancient stuff. Unfortunately, Osama Bin Laden does.

Dave Belton
Buckhead