Uluch Ali attacks again

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Uluch Ali attacks again
by Serafín Fanjul

Libertad Digital

In 1571, after the defeat of Lepanto, Uluch Ali (Uluç Ali Pasha), the Turkish admiral wrote: "The Imperial fleet guided by the divinity met witht the squadron of the damned infidels, and the will of Allah turned to the other side". This is how the Europeans of that time were saved, with the clash with Western Christendom (minus France, which had always pretended not to know about the general interests) started in 1501 after the entry of Kemal Rais in the Tyrrenan Sea. A large list of assaults, invasions, lootings, capture of local people to be sold, which would prolongue for three centuries and which would be impossible to list here even if briefly. Nonetheless, in a country with such a weak memory like ours (Spain) it is necessary to remember than in Hungary they remember the sad defeat of Mohács (1526), That in Eastern Europe they do not forget the Ottoman sieges to Vienn (1529 and 1683), that in Belgrade and Budapest there were still Turkish pashas at the end of the XVIIth century, or that the incursions of Muslim pirates reached as far afield as Iceland (1627) after having razed the coasts of England and Ireland. Not to speak of the coasts of Granada, Málaga or Valencia; nor of the sack of Citadella (Menorca) by Piali Rais in 1558; or of the extermination of the Armenians already in the XXth century. Our little interest for History, that comes from long and which the Socialist governments have taken care to aggreviate, leads us to keep absurd stances. I'll make myself clear..

It is out of all discussion that the events of the past cannot stick us in attitudes determinant of the economic, cultural or military policies of the current European Union, but it is neither convenient to decree a general amnesia, both in Spain and in the whole of Europe, through an ignorance (see Giscard's and Zapatero's European Constitution) of the origins and the basic elements of homogeneisation of our continent and, at the same time, wide opening ourselves in all kindness to the enemy of the recent past (for the Armenians the issue is still hot, not something of the XVth century) who, on his part, has not renounced to any of the factors of confrontation with us. They only want to benefit from the economy of the Union, which is all that interests them from us. Still worse with an Islamic government: let us remember the Turkish blockade to the American troops through their territory in 2003. And yet the European Parliament has just approved the start of the negotiations with Turkey for their integration in the Union, using for this the much debatable argument that 4% of the Turkish territory lies in the European continent. Geography as the only guide is a bad advisor, since then we will have to wonder what are the French Antilles or the Spanish Canaries in the Union, or agree with Morocco and surrender to them the people of Ceuta and Melilla with their hands and feet tied up.

As the inocence of the politicians is something that does not exist, one must wonder why there has been such a majority of favourable votes to the opening of conversations --which, according to the Spanish Socialist TV, does not equal to the entry. It is too strange that some mere particular interests --and there are some-- can force such a debatable result. The dodge the historical argument and, driven by the multiculturalist divine inspiration, in the name of the defenseless infancy, they adopt Dracula; they twist the geographical factor to their convenience (why not considering before then the adhesion of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Bielorussia, Russia?); they despise the political factor (what happens then with Greece and Cyprus? And the disequilibrium that will bring in the voting system as a big country?); and they forget the religious and cultural factors: A Christian club!, they stigmatize. Yes, Christian. And let us hope that it is not missed because if it is missed our descendents are going to go through a bad time. Those MPs in Strasbourg don't even care that it has been the Eastern Europeans those who have suffered most for being the neighbours of the Turks, and the most reluctants to admit the entry of Turkey. Not out of revenge but precaution.

However, the most incongruous case is that of Spain: the Left forgets all included the "Moors of the War" (that war which they like so much to bring out lately), which is much to forgive in their case; the Right manifests an enthusiasm which should be a case study in Psychiatry; and the population --if the polls are to be given any credit and are not to create opinion-- backs the entry of Turkey in proportions which are worrying for the emptiness and alienation (and then, the Celtiberians say that the Americans are stupid and ignorant for having voted Bush). I have asked some politicians involved in that exercise to give me a couple of reasons --just a couple-- to support that stance, some clue as to the benefits for Spain, just something for God's sake! I have not listened anything but angelical vague excuses, specious arguments much less difficult to hold than the historical memories as the base for all argumentation: reinforcement of the Mediterranean axis, a bridge between Europe and Islam, a way to distension... they militate one centimetre away from the Alliance of Civilisation, with Rodríguez [Zapatero] and Moratinos (Spanish Foreign Minister) held by the arm with Uluch Ali. And, who cares? This is not serious. This thing about the beneficial effects of Turkey and Islam remind me of that tale --which is much repeated-- of that beautiful actress, not very prudent, who wanted to have a perfect child and proposed a Scientist with a privileged brain to get together to procreate a child who would be the best of all in everything. The Scientist, rather ugly but clever and aware that no one gets bittered with a sweet, agreed with one objection: "What if the child is born with my beauty and your intelligence?"

And the fact is that here no one speaks out about the sequels that such an union will have over the remains of our Agriculture, of the delocalisation of the industry, of the avalanche of immigrants (the three or four million which will not fit in Germany, after Germany gets fifteen or twenty million?), of the cultural clash that our society will have to bear with, together with that of the penetration of North Africans. No great deal.

One thing is that the United States are interested in the entry of Turkey into the EU in order to reinforce NATO so much as to weaken the Union, or that England is interested to make the political union impossible, and a different thing is that we must be happy before that perspective. Fortunately, it doesn't look as if the German economy wants, nor is able to, suffer that aggresion.

Angela Merkel, ora pro nobis.



Serafín Fanjul is a professor of Arabic Literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and author of books like Al-Andalus contra España la Forja de un Mito (Al-Andalus versus Spain, the Forge of a Myth) and A través del Islam de Ibn Batuta (Across the Islam of Ibn Batuta).

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