PART 3:
The End of the Crisis
The Great Siege of Malta ended 450 years ago – to be precise
on 11 September 1565. It had been fought with zealous commitment on both sides
for three months, three weeks and three days. Invaders and defenders had
experienced comparable losses (probably around 10,000 each) from combat and
disease. Everyone understood the significance of this clash of civilizations.
Sunni Islam, triumphant in the Levant under
the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent, had launched a massive seaborne
assault on the soft underbelly of Christian Europe. The sultan established in
Constantinople, the old eastern capital of the Roman Empire, saw himself as the
heir of the caesars and had his sights fixed on Rome. The Knights Hospitaller, Malta’s
defenders, were conscious that they were fighting another battle in the
crusading wars between the soldiers of Christ and the warriors of Allah.
For weeks it had seemed to the inhabitants of this tiny
island that they were alone; that none of the mainland princes grasped the
importance of their fight to the death. Appeals for aid had produced only token
military assistance. The Ottomans attacked several points, trying to overwhelm
castles and infiltrate towns. The veteran commander, Jean de Valette, staved
off panic by his personal bravery and his refusal to consider negotiation.
At last, on 7 September, the Viceroy of Sicily, arrived with
an 8,000–strong relief force. This turned the tide. The Turks, worn down by the
long campaign and their debilitating losses, now found themselves outnumbered
and fled. Within days they scrambled to their ships and sailed eastwards.
We must always be careful about learning lessons from
history but some parallels can be drawn between the failed Sunni offensive of
1565 and today’s IS eruption in Iraq
and Syria:
1) Sunni fanaticism has not changed. The war it wages on all other religions
and all other brands of Islam is total and its warriors have no fear of death;
2) Its moral, political and cultural values are wholly at odds with those of
the West, founded on Judeo-Christian teachings; 3) It can only be halted by a
rival culture which is strong in its defence of humanity, respect for all
people and commitment to individual freedom.
450 years ago Europe was
slow to learn the importance of unity in facing the IS threat. It was
double-minded about the use of force. Today’s leaders face the same issues but
modern technology renders them more complex. We face IS aggression, not only on
the ground in the Middle East, but also in
cyberspace. In 2015 it is not the people of Malta who are being called upon to
stand up and be counted. It is not even the anti-Sunni forces in Syria, Iraq and their neighbours. We are
all in the front line. The difficult problems of how and where to deploy force
and how to cope with families fleeing the Sunni butchers have to be addressed.
But more important is the need for western nations (and, indeed, for Russia and its
acolytes) to find unity of purpose and moral/cultural rigidity. Idealism can
only be fought with idealism. De Valette met Sunni fanaticism with a dogged and
profound belief of his own: ‘I am seventy-one. How is it possible for a man of
my age to die more gloriously than in the midst of my friends and brothers in
the service of God?’
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