Unlike their Western counterparts, many Muslims are fond of their heroes of the past — particularly the jihadist types who for centuries thrived on terrorizing the West.
This was recently underscored by Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean, a television series written and produced in Turkey that aired late last year, and is dedicated to highlighting the clash between Islam and Christendom — in a way, of course, that demonizes the latter and extols the former.
The highly fictionalized series revolves around four Muslim brothers and their naval exploits and battles against the Christian maritime states of the Mediterranean.
While the series portrays the brothers as great heroes who sacrificed much to “defend” the Ottoman Empire against Christian Europe, history — real, actual, recorded history — has a different tale to tell.
In brief, the four brothers began life as common Barbary pirates (“corsairs”). The eldest of these brothers, Oruch, was notoriously sadistic, and once “ripped out the throat of a Christian with his teeth and ate the tongue,” to quote historian Roger Crowley in Empires of the Sea. He also “tied the head of a Hospitaller knight to a rope and twirled it like a globe until the eyeballs popped. In Spain and southern Italy people crossed themselves at his name.”
Due to the brothers’ many successful exploits against and slave raids on Europe, they eventually caught the eye of Ottoman sultan Suleiman “the Great.” Around 1520, the sultan took one of these Barbary brother pirates, Khair al-Din Barbarossa (d. 1546), whom the series is named after, into his service and helped him prosecute an especially ferocious jihad on Europe. Claiming that “Allah had made him to frighten Christians,” Barbarossa wrought havoc along the Christian Mediterranean, rarely withdrawing without thousands of captives. In one instance, on the island of Minorca, in the midst of the devastation, he left a message pinned to the tail of a horse in which he vowed that he would not rest “until I have killed the last one of you and enslaved your women, your daughters, and your children.”
Over the following two decades, hundreds of thousands of Europeans were enslaved, so that, by 1541, “Algiers teemed with Christian captives, and it became a common saying that a Christian slave was scarce a fair barter for an onion.”
This, apparently, is what Turkey is proud of — Muslims who “defend” Islam by invading Western lands to terrorize, slaughter, and enslave its people on the “grievance” that the unrepentant Christians are infidels who refuse the summons of Islam.
Nor is this sentiment limited to an obscure movie producer and a few Turks; it’s shared all the way at the top of the Turkish hierarchy. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan habitually praises those Turkish heroes and sultans of the past who most terrorized, slaughtered, and enslaved Europeans, such as Muhammad II, the conqueror of Constantinople — and a notorious pedophile to boot, as both Turkish and European chronicles attest.
The message could not be clearer: invading and conquering neighboring peoples — not due to any real grievances, but because they are non-Muslim — with all the attending atrocities, rapes, destruction, and mass slavery, is a laudable thing, apparently to be emulated once convenient.
Nor is such thinking limited to Turkey. As one report states, “[t]he television series was a Turkish and Algerian collaboration and is also being aired in Pakistan, spreading the Islam versus Christian rhetoric to other parts of the Muslim world.”
As such, perhaps now is a fitting time to announce my latest book: Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam. It is, in two primary ways, the antithesis of what regularly comes out of Turkey and other Muslim nations concerning the history between Islam and the West. First, it deals with Christian heroes who actually stood their ground against Islam, often in highly defiant terms — so that they are often seen as the greatest enemies of Islam’s heroes. Second, it actually offers facts, not propaganda (the book contains over one thousand end note citations, mostly to primary source references).
Preorder Defenders of the West here and learn about the true clash of civilizations without the usual Islamist/Leftist spin.
Well … our conservative and/or Christian leaders will apologize for those wicked and evil slaves and rape victims and murder victims … in 3 … 2 … 1 …
… wish I were kidding btw …
*** Happy New Year to all …
Well, they are presenting their history! Turkey has been established by conquering and genocides of the people who lived in that part, Asia Minor, for centuries and at a time that turks were in central Asia. They start appearing around the 11th Century. Many turks were mercenaries in the employ of Arab and Persian rulers.
US teachers unions are on board with that. Erasing white people history on behalf of “minorities.” PS my typing is almost invisible, cut in half on this site, so I’m not sure what I wrote.
Thanks Raymond. Keep up your good work and scholarship in telling it like it is (and was.) I just pre-ordered your new book.
Thanks for what
Heard of Spanish inquisition which led to Jews and Muslims forces fleeing to Muslim countries. The Jews lived much better during Ottoman Empire
The Muslims should never have occupied Spain in the first place. Actions have consequences. As for the so-called Andalusian Paradise read Fernandez-Morera ‘The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise’.
The usual leftist gross exaggeration of some truth.
Do read up on the subject a little more.
Spain was conquered by Arabs (and Berbers).
“The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise” is a good start.
Then discover WHY the Inquisition was created and WHY the Jesuits came to be.
Then realize what happens to a bureaucracy that has achieved its fundamental aims (the detection and removal of muslims pretending to be Christian and acting as 5th columnists for a returning muslim army).
Does it pack up?
No! It searches for new targets: Jew pretending to be Christians, then heretics then witches.
This is NOT a justification but an explanation. the persecution of Jews anywhere for the perceived crimes of the temple elders is a stain NOT upon Christianity, but upon any group of organized political men who call themselves a church.
The Barbary pirates were Arabs and the Turks did not enter the game until the 11th century.
The Turks are ethnically totally different to the Arabs and their razzias were mostly in the eastern Mediterranean. Neither group have any love for the other, muslim or not.
Before you reply, I have NO time for the RC church or any organized religion.
A lot bullshit
Barbaros was a legendary sea general who deafeated Spanish Armada during their time.
Catholic Church persecuted Muslims and Jews during same time. Woman were being raped and they were forced fleeing their lives. You should mention that LOUDLY!
Your name is Ibrahim
Why did decide to keep that name?
@ Michael: you sound very angry, with all it’s byproducts, instead of disagreeing politely.
What is your problem?
The origin of the name Ibrahim is the Hebrew name Abraham.
I guess that being either a leftist or a musilm (the typical anger gives that one a likelihood) means that one is hampered by one’s indoctrination and it shows badly.
Actually, know something other than the standard cant before you post as it just shows you up
That program, by its very nature, will be fiction, because there is no Truth in Islam.
Nazi Turkey constantly cry “Islamophobia” yet they treat Christians as enemies and regularly persecute them.
Right They are many Turkish tv series clips in YouTube that heavily romanticize jihadis and Pakistanis are most fond of it