For whom the bell tolls

Skybird · 05-29-06, 04:55 PM

Today's recommended reading of the day:
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1086

For Whom the Bell Tolls

By Paul Belien
Created 2006-05-29 19:13

553 years ago today, on 29 May 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire had been in decline for decades and the fall was inevitable. Some had tried to turn the tide. In 1374, when the Ottomans were only a nascent power, Prince Manuel, governor of Salonica and a son of the Byzantine Emperor, had tried to rally the inhabitants of his city against the Turks. But the Salonicans did not want to bear the high costs of defending their city and promptly threw him out. Out of fear of the Turks his father, Emperor John V, refused Manuel shelter within the walls of Constantinople and so did all the other Byzantine cities. Consequently the prince was forced to seek refuge with... the Ottomans, whom he served until 1394, when he became Emperor himself.
When the Sultan demanded a Byzantine princess from the Emperor, the latter gave away his daughter Theodora to spend the rest of her life in the Sultan’s harem. He also gave the Turks a church in Constantinople to convert into a mosque. All the appeasement was in vain, however, because in 1453 the Turks demanded that the Byzantines surrender Constantinople. This time the Byzantines refused. In their final hour they saved their honour. “They fought for the city as they had never fought for the empire,” writes Jason Goodwin in his history of the Ottoman Empire. After a siege of two months the city fell. Emperor Constantine XI, Manuel’s son, died with his sword in his hand.
I have been in Turkey for most of the past fortnight, attending a conference where I was invited to give a talk about my book. The trip, though planned long before, coincided with two hectic weeks in which the Belgian priest Father Leman, and politicians such as the Socialist Party leader Johan Vande Lanotte, demanded that I be prosecuted for allegedly inciting racial hatred.
Turkish (Muslim) friends who heard about this said I am always welcome in their country if the Belgian authorities should prosecute. They say they do not understand why the West European countries tolerate Islamist extremism to a degree that is not tolerated in a Muslim country such as Turkey, where female civil servants are not even allowed to wear headscarves to work.

05-29-06, 04:55 PM	#1
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,603 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	For whom the bell tolls Today's recommended reading of the day: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1086 For Whom the Bell Tolls By Paul Belien Created 2006-05-29 19:13 553 years ago today, on 29 May 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire had been in decline for decades and the fall was inevitable. Some had tried to turn the tide. In 1374, when the Ottomans were only a nascent power, Prince Manuel, governor of Salonica and a son of the Byzantine Emperor, had tried to rally the inhabitants of his city against the Turks. But the Salonicans did not want to bear the high costs of defending their city and promptly threw him out. Out of fear of the Turks his father, Emperor John V, refused Manuel shelter within the walls of Constantinople and so did all the other Byzantine cities. Consequently the prince was forced to seek refuge with... the Ottomans, whom he served until 1394, when he became Emperor himself. When the Sultan demanded a Byzantine princess from the Emperor, the latter gave away his daughter Theodora to spend the rest of her life in the Sultan’s harem. He also gave the Turks a church in Constantinople to convert into a mosque. All the appeasement was in vain, however, because in 1453 the Turks demanded that the Byzantines surrender Constantinople. This time the Byzantines refused. In their final hour they saved their honour. “They fought for the city as they had never fought for the empire,” writes Jason Goodwin in his history of the Ottoman Empire. After a siege of two months the city fell. Emperor Constantine XI, Manuel’s son, died with his sword in his hand. I have been in Turkey for most of the past fortnight, attending a conference where I was invited to give a talk about my book. The trip, though planned long before, coincided with two hectic weeks in which the Belgian priest Father Leman, and politicians such as the Socialist Party leader Johan Vande Lanotte, demanded that I be prosecuted for allegedly inciting racial hatred. Turkish (Muslim) friends who heard about this said I am always welcome in their country if the Belgian authorities should prosecute. They say they do not understand why the West European countries tolerate Islamist extremism to a degree that is not tolerated in a Muslim country such as Turkey, where female civil servants are not even allowed to wear headscarves to work. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 05-29-06 at 04:59 PM.