On this day in Islamic history

Christian Europe was saved at the Battle of Lepanto. The Ottoman Turks, perhaps the single most successful Islamic Empire, had already smashed through southeastern Europe, destroyed what was left of the Byzantine Empire (the effects of which are still felt among Orthodox Christians today), and marched its way toward establishing a foothold in Europe.

It was hardly the first Muslim force to attempt the conquest of Europe.  Almost from the beginning, Constantinople was a goal of Islamic conquest.  And throughout the subsequent centuries, several attempts by Muslims to seize Europe met with varying levels of success. 

In the Iberian Peninsula, Muslim forces successfully conquered the Christian Visigothic kingdom (something a Muslim scholar on a recent PBS special was quite proud of), but were thwarted at the Battle of Tours.  Throughout the next several centuries, Muslim forces would conduct raids along Europe's Mediterranean coasts, even establishing a foothold in the Italian Peninsula and Sicily.  Eventually European interests would reclaim both of these.

It's worth noting that even when I was in college, Europe's conquest of those Muslim footholds were focused on - not the fact that Muslims had conquered them in the first place.

Following this, the rise of the Seljuk Turks and their aggression against both Christians in the Holy Land as well as pushing against the floundering Byzantines would set of the chain of events leading to the Crusades.  Though no gains were made against European territory, as Muslims would have to unite in a defensive conflict to regain territory against the Christian Crusaders, it drew Europeans into a campaign that would have far reaching ramifications for centuries to come.

It was the Ottomans, however, who were the most successful at fulfilling that Muslim dream of seizing the European continent.  One success after another brought Ottoman forces to the front door of modern day Austria.  It was the Ottoman Empire that conquered Constantinople.  Had Vienna fallen, there is little to suggest that Muslim forces wouldn't have marched unopposed until they reached Prussia, or even Paris. 

The Battle of Lepanto itself involved an Ottoman attempt to swing through the Mediterranean and seize Cyprus.  There were strategic reasons centered around the Ottoman's ultimate focus on the Italian Peninsula and Malta's role as a base for raids.  A good rundown of the battle, its details and its importance can be found here.

Suffice to say, the Ottomans were defeated for the time being.  It wasn't over by a long shot.  Long after Jamestown was settled, long after the Pilgrims had their famous feast, the Ottomans were still attempting to push into Europe.  It would be toward the end of the 17th Century before the ability of the Islamic world to threaten Europe was curtailed.  And that was largely due to the growing technological revolutions occurring that gave Europe the upper hand in the military and navigational races so crucial to establishing empires.

If the Europeans seemed eager to rush out and conquer, we must forgive them to a point.  After all, it wasn't only Muslims who threatened them throughout most of Europe's history.  But the threat from the lands of the Mohammedans was always real and in the back of the European mind.

Today, of course, some say a new invasion is under way.   Just as Vikings were striking north as Muslims were invading south, so they contend that Europe is under two invasions today.  One, by way of immigrants, is changing the culture and priorities and resolve of Europe to even want to survive.  The other, secular liberalism, is eating away at its values and its very identity.  Whereas Malta survived the Ottomans, can it survive the secularists?  Whereas Europe stood fast against the sultans, can they survive the inflow of immigrants?

The long term designs that Muslim immigrants have for their new lands are up for grabs.  As we noted here, when Bernie Sanders suggested believers in the historic Gospel have no place in our modern state, Muslims had a chance to stand in solidarity with all religious believers.  Instead, silence at best, or support for Bernie's call for discrimination against Christians at worst, was the result.  What that portends for the long term is hard to say. That the Left doesn't care as long as the last shards of Christian civilization are swept away means half of Western Culture will be glad to see anyone triumph over the West, as long as it's not Christianity.  We'll just have to wait and see.