Jihad in the West: Muslim Conquests from the 7th to the 21st Centuries

520 Pages·1998·5.38 MB·English

by  Paul Fregosi

JIHAD
IN THE WEST
PAUL FREGOSI
JIHAD
IN THE WEST
MUSLIM CONQUESTS
FROM THE
7TH TO THE 21ST CENTURIES
DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO the memory of Bosko Brcik, 25, Christian
Serb, and of his bride-to-be Admira Ismic, 25, Bosnian Muslim, who were shot
and killed by an unknown sniper as they tried to escape from the beleaguered
city of Sarajevo on May 20, 1993, and who died in each other's arms on the
banks of the Miljacka River. God be with them.
CONTENTS
Glossary of Useful Arabic and Turkish Terms 11
Preface 15
Introduction: The Holy War That Isn't 19
PART I. THE DAYS OF THE PROPHET
1. The Beginnings: Mecca 570-622 31
2. Gabriel Cometh: Medina 622-632 34
3. The First Battles 40
4. A Man of Many Parts 46
5. When the Killing Had to Stop 52
6. A Man of His Time 56
7. Of Bones and Stones 60
8. A Paradise for Warriors 65
PART II. BEYOND ARABIA
9. Onward Muslim Soldiers: Byzantium and Persia 632-640 71
10. The Island Campaign: Cyprus, Rhodes, and Crete 649-668 76

11. Checkmate on the Bosporus: Constantinople 668-673 83
PART III. THE IBERIAN VENTURE
12. The Toledo Whore: Spain 710 89
13. The Mountain of Tarik: Spain 711 93
14. A Conqueror's Fate: Spain 711-715 97
PART IV. ISLAM UNFOLDS
15. The Forgotten Isaurian: Constantinople 717-718 103
16. The Dhimmis: Dar-al-Islam from the Seventh Century Onward 107
17. Forays into France: The Languedoc 718-732 110
18. The Hammer of the Franks: Tours 732-759 116
19. The Umayyad Takeover: Spain 756-852 122
20. The Long Resistance: Sicily 827-902 130
21. The French Riviera Campaign: St. Tropez 898-973 135
PART V. FOR SPAIN, MY HUMBLE DUTY
22. The Corpses of Simancas: Spain 912-961 143
23. Aurora's Lover: Santiago de Compostela 967-1002 149
24. Exeunt the Umayyads: Spain 1085 153
25. The Desert Warrior: Zalaca 1085-1086 156
26. Mio Cid: Valencia 1080-1108 161
PART VI. DEFLECTION IN THE SOUTH
27. Liberation in Lusitania: Portugal 1079-1147 171
28. Whence the Greeks and Normans: Sicily 1025-1091 175
29. The African Takeover: Spain 1104-1212 182
30. The Year of Decision: Las Navas de Tolosa 1212 192
31. The Muslim Debacle: Spain 1212-1250 197
32. Five Cities to Go: Andalusia 1230-1248 201

PART VII. ONSLAUGHT FROM THE EAST
33. The Ottoman Advent: Turkey mid1200s 209
34. The Mongolian Horde: Russia 1340-1480 212
35. Janissaries Ahoy: Thrace 1301-1353 216
36. The Gay Revolt: Thrace 1376-1388 219
37. The Field of Blackbirds: Kosovo 1389 224
38. The Wild Knights of France: Nicopolis 1396 231
39. The Hungarian Hero: Varna 1444 240
40. The Last Agony: Constantinople 1453 248
41. The Road to Rome: Belgrade 1456 260
PART VIII. BY LAND AND SEA
42. The Sigh of the Moor: Granada 1492 267
43. The Ottoman Empire: Selim the Grim 1512-1520 275
44. The Red Danube: Mohacs 1526 278
45. The Untaken Capital: Vienna 1529 285
46. Sailors, Slavers, and Raiders: The Mediterranean 1504-1546 288
47. In Arms Always and Prepared for Combat: Malta 1565 295
48. The Rhapsody of Death: Hungary 1566 309
49. The Alpujarras Rising: Spain 1568-1570 312
50. The Flaying of Bragadino: Famagusta 1571 317
51. A Good Day to Die: Lepanto 1572 322
52. Colonialism Muslim Style: Eastern Europe 1574-1681 329
PART IX. THE WANING OF HOLY WAR
53. Never Was There a Victory More Complete: Vienna 1683 343
54. The Jihad Totters: Greece and Hungary 1685-1699 349
55. The Gravediggers: Central and Southeastern Europe 1716-1770 354
56. The Orloff-Suvarov Duet: The Mediterranean and Crimea 1770-1792 362

PART X. WARRIORS OF A WILLING DOOM
57. To the Shores of Tripoli: North Africa 1798-1830 371
58. The Surrogates of Pericles: Greece 1821-1827 380
59. Wars Galore: The Balkans 1828-1878 389
PART XI. THE JIHAD RETURNS
60. The Great Unholy Wars: Dar-al-Harb 1912-1945 399
61. Terrorism: The West 1980s-1990s 410
Epilogue: An Action in All Its Luster 413
Bibliography 417
Index 427
GLOSSARY OF USEFUL ARABIC
AND TURKISH TERMS
AL-ANDALUS. The part of Spain under Muslim rule. Its frontier fluctuated
with the fortunes of war.
ALMOHAD. Berber dynasty (1130-1269) which followed a policy of religious
purity and was defeated in Spain in 1212.
ALMORAVIDS. Berber dynasty from the Sahara which ruled over much of
Morocco and Spain in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
ANSAR. Inhabitants of Medina who helped Muhammad and the early Muslims
after they moved from Mecca to Medina in the year 622.
BURAQ. The animal with the body of a mule and the head of a woman that
carried Muhammad from Mecca to Paradise through Jerusalem on the Night
Journey in the year 619.
CALIPH. Successor to Muhammad as head of the Muslim (Sunni) community.
The caliphate (which was based in Istanbul) was abolished by Kemal Ataturk in
1924.
DAR-AL-HARB. The Land or Domain of War, where Islamic rule does not
reign and which has historically been considered a legitimate target for the Jihad.
DAR-AL-ISLAM. The Land or Domain of Islam, where Islamic law and rule
prevail.

DHIMMI. A nonbeliever (notably Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians) who lives
on Muslim territory, under Islamic law and protection. In lands under the rule of
the Ottoman Turks dhimmis were known as rayahs.
FATWA. A religious or judicial edict that can be passed by the caliph, a mufti, or
a judge (qadi).