ORNERY ATAU MEMBUAT ONAR, TUAN-TUAN MESTI BACA : Some History For Dr Mahathir Dan Orang Yang Sewaktu Dengannya.

 ornery (adjective) -  an irritable disposition, cantankerous, mean,  difficult to deal with,  tendency to cause trouble, mischievous 

membuat onar - menghuru-harakan,  keributan, bergaduhan.

On 30th October 2020 Dr Mahathir was reported to have tweeted that the Muslims have the right to kill the French because the French had colonised and killed so many people in other countries. 

Well I have read books about the history of the world and its people.  From antiquity right up to modern times. I was especially impressed by John Man's series of books about Attila, Genghis Khan and others. 

According to John Man,  when Attila the Hun died his people diverted the entire flow of the mighty Danube River and buried Attila and a vast treasure at the bottom of the Danube. Then they reopened the flow of the Danube River so that grave robbers would never be able to dig up all the treasures.  Considering that the Danube is a mighty river that is about a mile wide in many places it was a fantastic feat of hydraulic engineering to divert such a huge river. Until this day Attila still lies buried with his treasure somewhere along the bottom of the Danube River.

What this means is that the "Huns" were not some rag-tag bunch of horse riding barbarians who we read about in our history books. They were a highly capable people with the ability to undertake huge engineering projects - plus taking and administering vast areas of land.

In our country too many people just dont read - especially books. Too many people do not even know their own history or the history of their religion, the history of their language etc. They are ignorant. 

So Tuan-Tuan be careful with your ignorance.  When people are ignorant they can be easily manipulated by the clever beggar who has indeed read some books.  (Rest assured that I do not manipulate my readers.  How can you be sure? Because we will never meet. That is how you can be sure, doh !! If you want to read my blog please do. If you dont read my blog, adios amigos, muchachos, hombres. No one cares.)

So I do recall some of the history of our human race including the part after the advent of Islam and what is generally knows as the Arab conquests. So here is a quick time line of history that should be relevant to the Muslim people. 

Jerusalem : Jerusalem was known to be a center of the Jewish civilisation from before Christianity.  

And then Christianity was 'born' in this area (1 AD). Christians believe that Jesus grew up and preached Christianity in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galillee etc.  

325 AD : Jerusalem formally recognised in Canon VII. 

335 AD : The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was completed.

So Tuan-Tuan for over 600 years Jerusalem and the Levant was a Christian civilisation. At that time there was no Islam. Islam would appear 600 years later.

Islam would not appear in the Levant until the 7th century AD (after 632 AD).

636–637 AD - Arab invasion of Jerusalem. Circa 636 AD the Arabs appeared and invaded Jerusalem as part of the Muslim conquest of the Levant.

So Tuan-Tuan beginning 636 AD the Arabs took Jerusalem from the Christians. and controlled  Palestine. 

The Arabs would control Jerusalem for 463 years before the Christians launched the first Crusade in 1099 to reclaim back their "holy" city.

NOTA untuk Dr Mahathir dan kekawan : In 636 AD the Christians did not invade the Arab lands.  The Christians duduk happy-happy in Jerusalem and the Levant, sambut Merry Christmas, Easter dsbnya.  It was the Arabs who suddenly invaded their territory and told the Christians 'This is now our holy land. We are taking over."

So it is important for Dr Mahathir to understand who invaded who. Tuan-tuan please keep reading. 

Then about 75 years later the Arabs invaded Spain and Portugal (the Iberian Peninsula) 

711 - 718 AD Muslim Umayyad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. The establishment of the Umayyad Wilayah of Al-Andalus (Andalusia).

In 711 AD the Arab general Tareq ibn Ziyad crossed over into Spain at 'Calpe'.  They invaded Spain and changed the name of Calpe to Gibraltar (Jebel Tareq) after Tareq ibn Ziyad. 

And the Arabs would colonise (menjajah) Spain for 300 years or more. The last Arabs left Spain in 1492. 

NOTA untuk Dr Mahathir dan kekawan : So just 75 years after invading Jerusalem and the Levant the Arabs started attacking Christian Iberia (Spain and Portugal) in 711 AD. Again the Spanish did not invade the Arab lands. Ingat baik-baik ok. The Spanish duduk happy-happy in Spain, sambut Merry Christmas, Easter dsbnya.  It was the Arabs who suddenly invaded Spain and told them 'This is now our land. We are taking over. We are calling it Andalusia"

And the Arabs colonised Spain for over 300 years.  

So it is important for Dr Mahathir to understand who invaded who and who colonised who. Tuan-tuan please keep reading. 

Then the next year 719 AD the Arabs invaded France (Gaul) in two phases in 719 and 732. 

The Umayyads first invaded an area called Septimania in France (Gaul).  About 12 years later in 732 AD the Arabs were defeated by Frank Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours.  

It took another 27 years (759 AD) before the French (the Franks) would retake Septimania from the Arabs. However about 200 years later in the 10th century the Arabs would re-invade the Mediterranean coast in France.

NOTA untuk Dr Mahathir dan kekawan : So just 20 years after invading Iberia (Spain and Portugal) the Arabs were attacking France (Gaul).  Again the Franks did not invade the Arab lands. Ingat baik-baik ok.  The Franks duduk happy-happy in France, sambut Merry Christmas, Easter dsbnya.  It was the Arabs who suddenly invaded France and told them 'This is now our land. We are taking over."

So imagine if you were a Christian, living happy-happy in Jerusalem (667 AD) or in Spain (711 AD) or in France (732 AD) suddenly you see these Arab guys appearing out of nowhere and invading your country. 

Before this the Spanish, the Franks, the Visigoths had never invaded any Muslim lands. Or any Arab lands. 

So it is important for Dr Mahathir to understand who invaded who. Tuan-tuan please keep reading. 

Lets fast forward now.

It took about 400 years before Christian Europe could organise itself to retake their holy land which they had lost to the Arabs in the 7th century. 

In their first attempt (1099 - First Crusade) the Europeans recaptured their Holy City of Jerusalem from the Muslim Fatimid Caliphate.

They established the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, which lasted almost 200 years.

75 years later in 1174 the Muslims win back Jerusalem city (2nd Crusade).

25 years later in 1199 AD the Christians won back Jerusalem (3rd Crusade).

Fast forward to 52 years later in 1251 AD (10th Crusade) the Turkish Mamluks won back Jerusalem.

Jerusalem would remain in Muslim hands until 1967. 

Then there was the Rise of the Islamic Ottoman Caliphate (1299 to 1453 and until 1924).

1382 Bulgaria fell to the Ottomans 

1385 Albania fell to the Ottomans (Battle of Savra)

1389 Serbian   fell to the Ottomans - Battle of Kosovo 

Ottomans win Battle of Varna (1444) 

Ottomans win Second Battle of Kosovo (1448).

1453 Constantinople fell to the Ottomans 

1479, Sultan Mehmet II launched invasion of Italy.

1482 Ottomans invade Croatia,

1463–1503 Ottomans invade Venice in Italy.

1522 Ottomans invaded and captured the island of Rhodes 

1526–1566 Ottomans invade Hungary  

1538 Ottomans invaded Moldavia

1570–1571: Conquest of Cyprus

1529 Ottomans mounted first major attack on Austria (Habsburgs) 

1529 Ottomans lay siege to Vienna.

1532 Second Ottoman siege of Vienna with 60,000 troops

1522–1573 Ottomans occupy Rhodes, Malta and the Holy League

1570–1571: Ottoman conquest of Cyprus

1593–1669 Ottomans attack Austria, Venice and Wallachia

Ottomans attack Venice 1645–1669 

1645-1669 Ottoman conquest of Crete 

1663-1664 Austro-Ottoman War (1663–1664), failed to invade Austria.

1620–1621: Ottomans invade Poland-Lithuania

1657–1683 Ottoman wars with Habsburgs

1672–1676: Ottomans attack Poland-Lithuania (again?)

NOTA untuk Dr Mahathir dan kekawan : So just look at that long list of European countries invaded by the Muslims - first the Arabs and then the Turks. (In the east it was the Arabs, Turks and Persians who invaded Afghanistan, India and Central Asia. That list of invasions is perhaps even longer).

Again the Europeans did not invade the Arab lands or the Muslim lands. Ingat baik-baik ok. (Possibly because the Arab lands were full of sand, camels and Arabs - no one wanted to live there.)  

Throughout ALL THESE CENTURIES the Europeans in Serbia, Austria, Venice, France, Italy, Vienna, Hungary, Poland etc etc duduk happy-happy, sambut Merry Christmas, Easter dsbnya.  It was the Arabs and Ottomans who suddenly invaded Europe and told them 'This is now our land. We are taking over."

So imagine for over a period of 1009 years - from 667 AD (Arab invasion of Jerusalem) until 1676 AD (Ottoman invasion of Poland)  the Christians and Europeans were constantly (actually non-stop) being attacked and invaded by the Muslims. 

Before this the Spanish, the Franks, the Visigoths had never invaded any Muslim lands. Or any Arab lands.  No army from Poland or Lithuania had invaded any  Arab or Turkish lands.  

So it is important for Dr Mahathir to understand who invaded who. Tuan-tuan please keep reading. 

And the Arabs and Ottomans did terrible things when they invaded Europe. They killed, pillaged, raped, murdered and carried the people (especially the women) off into slavery.

The Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent was famous for his harem full of European women he had captured or acquired as slaves. Suleyman's favorite concubine was Roxelana (aka Hurrem Sultan) who was a Polish woman acquired through slave traders.

Now here comes the more relevant part.  Why were we in Asia / Malaya colonised by the Europeans? 

Why did the Portugese / Spaniards begin exploring the world by sea in the late 15th century?  Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492. Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. Vasco Da Gama arrived in India in 1497. 

The main reason is because the Muslim Ottoman Empire which controlled all the land between Europe and Asia  decided to put an end to the Silk Road between Asia and Europe.  

"The Silk Road was a network of trade routes used by traders between Asia and Europe for more than 1,500 years, from when the Han dynasty of China opened trade in 130 B.C. until 1453 AD when the Muslim Ottoman Empire closed off trade with the West"

So the Europeans had no choice.  There had been trade between China, India and Europe since the Greek and Roman periods.  Now suddenly after the invasion of Constantinople in 1453 the Muslims cut off the trade routes.

Thus began the Age of Discovery where European kings and queens sent their sailors to navigate alternative sea routes to India and China.  India was always the Number 1 destination for the Europeans because at that time India was the richest country on the earth.

That is why (the legend says) when Christoper Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic and reached the Bahamas in 1492 he thought he had already reached India. Hence they called the American natives "red" Indians.  

And earlier in 1487 Diaz had rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and by 1497 Da Gama had reached India. 

The Europeans were all trying to find alternative routes to India and China because the Muslims had cut off land routes from Europe to Asia.

NOTA untuk Dr Mahathir dan kekawan : So Dr Mahathir, imagine this - if the Muslims had not cut off the land routes from Europe to Asia the Portugese would not have reason to sail to India in 1497 or to invade Melaka in 1511.  

Jadi kita semua kena jajah mat salleh ini salah tok-tok arab hang juga!!

Siapa suruh tok hang pi conquer Eropah atau pi usik Portugis atau pi sapu anak dara kulit putih Poland?

Sebiji serupa Jepun buat onar di negara kita time Perang Dunia 2 dulu. Apa beza sangat?  

in 1941 the Japanese invaded Malaya - kita marah. It was a bad thing they did. 

So apa beza sangat when the Arabs / Turks invaded Europe - takkan orang Eropah nak rasa seronok pula tanah mereka diceroboh oleh tentera Arab? How can it be a good thing for the Europeans to be invaded and colonised by the Arabs and later by the Ottomans?

Today even over 500 years AFTER the Portugese invaded Melaka in 1511 we are still angry at them. We call them penjajah.

But imagine just 19 years before Alfonso De Albuquerqe invaded Melaka in 1511,  there were still vestiges of the Arab 'invaders' living in Spain.  Just 19 years before in 1492 Isabella and Ferdinand chased out the last of the Arabs from Spain. And the Muslims had blocked off the old trade routes to Asia. Why lah like that ??

For over a thousand years from 667 AD AD until 1620 AD and beyond, the Muslims (Arabs and later Ottoman Turks) constantly harassed and attacked the Christians and Europeans.    

In the 700s AD the Arabs invaded Spain (and Portugal) and later they reached Poitiers / Tours in France - which is not far from Paris. 

800 years later in the 16th century the Ottomans laid siege (twice) to Vienna in Austria. 

In Europe mothers would try to discipline naughty children by saying 'The Saracens (Muslims) will come for you". 

In the 14th century the famous Italian writer Dante Alighieri would write his epic poem The Inferno as part of his  Divine Comedy where he depicts the prophet in an unfavourable light. 

So for a thousand years in Europe there was a constant fear (and hatred) against the Muslims.  

In conclusion - we must be fair. If you dont like other people to colonise you, then how can you rejoice when you (or your heroes) colonised others?