Vagaries of 'a self-conscious "Christian world" '
Reader comment on item: Jerusalem Falls to British, "Great Rejoicing in the Christian World"

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Mar 31, 2009 at 17:21

> The lead headline captures a mentality once dominant but now rare in the West, when there was a self-conscious "Christian world" and it rejoiced in a religious/military victory over Muslims.<

To the above newspaper one might add e.g. "The murderous tyranny of the Turks" by A. Toynbee with preface by Viscount Bryce and a number of other works published in Britain and America between 1914-1922 that reflect the same mentality. Yet I am afraid that on closer consideration they hardly pass the test of being typical of 'a self-conscious "Christian world" '. At least they were very untypical of the British strategy where Christianity was hardly ever a consideration vis-a-vis Turkey or Islam. As long as Turkey opposed Britain's enemies and kept the straits safe for the Royal Navy Turkey's reputation in Britain was good. Forgotten or played down all the massacres in Greece, Bulgaria , Armenia and elsewhere. Praised and extolled all 'the reforms', 'progress' and repeated 'renewals' of Turkey that in fact only reinforced her regressive forces.

But woe to Christian Russia if she dared protest too loudly against the mistreatment of Christians in Turkey, permanent unjustice, lawlessness and persecutions there. The outcry was huge when she dared discipline and beat Britain's Moslem darling and create a Christian state here or there! In fact Russia did more for liberating ancient Christian nations from the Moslem yoke more than anyone else. The tsars really believed in their divine mission against the Moslem oppressors of Christianity. Britain -on the contrary- created - if am not mistaken- not a single Christian state at all at the expense of Islamic nations. Even Cyprus cheated out in 1878 by Britain remained formally a Turkish possession until 1914. And the worst Russian crime was the wish to restore the cross to the Hagia Sophia and undo the crime of 1453 !!! The Christian British would never admit that !

Not only did the British public opinion immediately mobilize to defend the poor Turkish ghazis and dar-al-Islam from the Christian Russians in 1854 and 1877/1878. The British Navy and troops also were moblized to prevent the Russians from rejoicing in the victory over the Moslems. The resources of the immense British empire were used to push the Russians back in the Crimea and Asia Minor.

Things changed for a while when the Turkish darling defected and allied himself with Germany and declared war on his saviour. Then and only then did the British remember they were Christians after all ...just like the Russians whom they had made all to vilify and defeat. But their memory failed soon. Although masters of Constantinople in 1918 they never thought of restoring it to Christinity. And as soon as Kemal's Islamic hordes exterminated the Christian Greeks but promised to be good boys and respect British interests in the future and keep the straits safe against the Russians who became bad again the British returned to their old political game where Christianity was a fine but totally useless decoration.

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