Facing Islam

Religion | Desperate times generate desperate responses. In 1453 Constantinople (now Istanbul) fell to the Turks. In 2001 the Twin Towers fell to terrorists. During the decade after the conquest of Constantinople some in Europe stressed the need for stronger military forces and others the need for stronger Christian faith, but some looked for ways to make theological peace with what appeared to be unstoppable Muslim force. Today, the same three sets of attitudes are evident, as a new book shows | Marvin Olasky

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In 1453 much of Europe mourned. When the news of Constantinople's fall reached Venice, "a great and excessive crying broke out, weeping, groaning . . . everyone beating their chests with their fists." Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor, wept. Christian I, king of Denmark and Norway, called the Turkish conqueror, Mehmet, the beast described in the book of Revelation. Diplomat Aeneas Sylvias Piccolomini wrote to Pope Nicholas V about the "frightening news . . . these matters press upon and overwhelm my heart, most Holy Father. I see belief and truth wiped out at the same time."

On the winning side, some Middle Eastern crowds celebrated much as their descendants did on 9/11. When Cairo received the news that Constantinople's walls were breached and thousands of its residents killed, one Muslim wrote that "the good news was sounded by the bands each morning . . . people celebrated by decorating shops and houses most extravagantly." Mehmet sent round to leading Muslim cities what he believed was the head of Constantine, the last Byzantine emperor, stuffed with straw. He also sent 1,200 Greek children as slaves to Muslim rulers in Egypt, Tunis, and Spain.