http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/16/wpope216.xml Flashpoints through history as two civilisations clash (Filed: 16/09/2006) Daily Telegraph
. Prophet Mohammed experienced a revelation in Mecca in 610 but was forced to take refuge in nearby Medina until the decisive battle of Badr in 624. Soon after he expelled Banu Qaynuqa, a Jewish tribe from his lands. A period of steady Muslim expansion was inaugurated. . Seljuk Turks seized Jerusalem in 1071 and limited Christian access. Pope Urban II called for a Crusade to claim the holy city of Jerusalem for Christianity, wresting it from Islamic control. The first Crusaders successfully stormed Jerusalem in 1099, one of four "Crusader states" in Syria and Palestine. . In the 12th Century another Muslim advance led to the 2nd crusade in 1144. The armies were almost wiped out in Asia Minor. Turkish armies, commanded by Saladin, a Kurd, considered the greatest Muslim leader, reconquered Jerusalem prompting the Third Crusade, jointly led by Britain's best-known Crusader, Richard the Lionheart. Crusade fails. . Not until the peaceful Sixth Crusade in 1228 was Jerusalem restored to Byzantium. Muslims later reoccupied the city. After three more crusades, the last Christian stronghold in the region, Acre, fell in 1291. . The Seljuks also set their sights on Constantinople, the New Rome of Christendom. Emperor Romanos IV suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Seljuks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Romanus was captured, and although the Sultan's peace terms were not excessive, the battle was catastrophic for the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was finally conquered by the Muslim armies of Sultan Mehmed II in 1453. . In recent history, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was formed as anti-colonial movement with religious alliances in 1928. Its followers were instrumental in the emergence of Osama bin Laden as the focus of anti-Western jihad. Bin Laden makes frequent references to the Crusaders and Jews as the twin enemies of Islam. . George W Bush reacts to the attack on September 11 with a verbal gaffe: "This crusade," he said, "this war on terrorism." The comment is quickly retracted. . Silvio Berlusconi said the West would "conquer" an Islamic world 1,400 years behind: "We should be confident of the superiority of our civilisation, which consists of a value system that has given people widespread prosperity in those countries that embrace it, and guarantees respect for human rights and religion," Mr Berlusconi said. "This respect certainly does not exist in Islamic countries." . Pope John Paul II apologised for all the Church's errors including the Crusades in 2000. "We humbly ask for forgiveness for the part that each of us with his or her behaviors has played in such evils thus contributing to disrupting the face of the church." Gerard P. Keenan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
